This study evaluates the effectiveness of nightlight intensity, population density and spatial network analysis towards understanding rapid urban growth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania between 1990 and 2020. This contributes towards solving the issue of data insufficiencies which often lie at the heart of problems associated with rapid urban growth. This research finds that many new insights can be drawn from analysis of open-source datasets, facilitating improved understanding of rapid urban growth, and offering a replicable, accessible methodology.