  We give an outline of an algorithm designed to reconstruct the background
cosmological metric within the class of spherically symmetric dust universes
that may include a cosmological constant. Luminosity and age data are used to
derive constraints on the geometry of the universe up to a redshift of $z =
1.75$. It is shown that simple radially inhomogeneous void models that are
sometimes used as alternative explanations for the apparent acceleration of the
late time Universe cannot be ruled out by these data alone.
