As new data-centric initiatives become more common, we see a growing awareness of their tendency to exacerbate inequalities beyond matters of design and deployment. This is particularly relevant in contemporary urban spaces where the incorporation of networks, data, and infrastructure renders the impact of such initiatives especially pronounced. Building upon the notion that cities are where data research hits the ground, a responsible study of data-centric urbanism requires an examination of policy, governance, and digital rights from a social justice perspective. This presentation addresses two central questions: 1. How can we advance the responsibility of Data Science (and its practitioners) to encompass a broader social framework concerned with social justice? 2. What lessons can we learn from the deployment of data-centric projects in cities across the Americas? This work draws from previous experience of collaboration with partners in research-based policymaking and public interest advocacy, whose primary focus was the analysis of tech ecosystems and their state and non-state actors over the past five years in Brazil and Canada. I will present two case studies. The first study, which was carried out from 2017 to 2021, looked into the implementation of the smart city agenda in Brazil from a critical perspective. It revealed to what extent politics and social participation (or lack thereof) influenced urban data projects. The second case study, being developed in Montreal since 2020, addresses how governance of the night-time economy exemplifies a new trend that necessitates open data policies grounded on social justice and multistakeholderism.