The first discussion panel of the Big Data series considers the questions: what makes a place? How is place imbued with personal and communal meaning? How do urbanisation and globalisation affect place and what might future places look and feel like? Kim Hill is joined by: Kevin Sweeney, formerly New Zealand Geospatial Custodian; Bill Macnaught, National Librarian of New Zealand; Stephen McDougall, director, Studio Pacific Architecture.