Mapzen Search is a modern geocoding and place search service based on [Pelias](https://github.com/pelias/pelias), an experimental open geocoder from [Mapzen](https://mapzen.com) and powered by open data. It's used to transform the way people talk about places - with names and addresses - into geographic coordinates.
To use the Mapzen Search service, you must first obtain a free developer API key from Mapzen. Sign in at https://mapzen.com/developers to create and manage your API keys.
To use the Mapzen Search service, you must first obtain a free, developer API key. Sign in at https://mapzen.com/developers to create and manage your API keys.
Mapzen Search is a free, shared geocoding service. As such, there are limitations on requests to prevent individual users from degrading the overall system performance.
1. Go to https://mapzen.com/developers.
2. Sign in with your GitHub account. If you have not done this before, you need to agree to the terms first.
3. Create a new key for Mapzen Search, and optionally, give it a name so you can remember the purpose of the project.
4. Copy the key into your code.
Go to https://mapzen.com/developers.
Sign in with your GitHub account. If you have not done this before, you need to agree to the terms first.
Create a new key for Mapzen Search, and optionally, give it a name so you can remember the purpose of the project.
Keep the web page open so you can copy the key into the code later.
## Rate limits
Because Mapzen Search is a free, shared service, there are limitations on the numbers of requests to prevent individual users from degrading the overall system performance.
# Rate Limits
As Mapzen Search is a free, shared service, we have rate limits that restrict the maximum number of requests per second and per day.
Our free API keys allow you a maximum of:
Mapzen Search allows you a maximum of:
- 3 requests per second
- 30,000 requests per day
If you need more capacity, you can get in touch with [search@mapzen.com](mailto:search@mapzen.com), or set up your own instance of [Pelias](https://github.com/pelias/pelias), which we provide with access to all of the same data we use to power Mapzen Search.
If you need more capacity, contact [search@mapzen.com](mailto:search@mapzen.com). You can also set up your own instance of [Pelias](https://github.com/pelias/pelias), which has access to the same data used in Mapzen Search.
# Taking Care
Mapzen Search works over HTTPS in addition to HTTP. We strongly encourage you to use HTTPS for all requests, especially for queries involving potentially sensitive information, like a user's location or search query.
## Security
Mapzen Search works over HTTPS, in addition to HTTP. You are strongly encouraged to use HTTPS for all requests, especially for queries involving potentially sensitive information, such as a user's location or search query.
Geospatial search, frequently referred to as **geocoding** is the process of matching an address to its corresponding geographic coordinates. There's nothing inherent in the words we use to describe an address that conveys its location at some coordinates on earth, i.e. *[lat,lon]*. Making the leap from text to coordinates is an intricate and challenging process. Lucky for you, we've done all the hard work and made it accessible via a really simple and free web service.
Geospatial search, commonly referred to as geocoding, is the process of matching an address to its corresponding geographic coordinates.
There's nothing inherent in the language we use to describe a physical address that allows us to convert that human readable sentence in to a format that a computer can understand, such as latitude & longitude.
## Search the World
Making the leap from text to coordinates is an intricate and challenging process. Lucky for you, Mapzen has done all the hard work and made it accessible though a free web service.
scheme domain version path query authentication token
```
In the simplest search, all you provide is the text you'd like to match in any part of the location details. So to accomplish this, you just set the `text` parameter to whatever you want to find. Let's see a few examples.
In the simplest search, you can provide only one parameter, the text you want to match in any part of the location details. To accomplish this, build a query where the `text` parameter is set to the item you want to find.
Let's search for **YMCA**. Here's what you'd need to append to the base URL of the service, **search.mapzen.com**.
For example, if you want to find a [YMCA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YMCA) facility, here's what you'd need to append to the base URL of the service, `search.mapzen.com`.
If you clicked on the query link above, you probably saw some cool **GeoJSON**, more on that later, with the following set of places in the results:
Clicking the link above will open a file containing the best matching results for the text `YMCA`. You will notice the data is in a computer-friendly format called [GeoJSON](http://geojson.org/), which may be hard for humans to read in some browsers.
If you are having trouble seeing the JSON in your browser, you can install a browser extension for [Chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/jsonview/chklaanhfefbnpoihckbnefhakgolnmc?hl=en) or [Firefox](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/jsonview/) that will make it easier for you to read.
In the example above, you will find the name of each matched locations in a property named `'label'`. The top 10 labels returned were:
> * YMCA, Bargoed Community, United Kingdom
* YMCA, Nunspeet, Gelderland
@ -37,20 +49,23 @@ If you clicked on the query link above, you probably saw some cool **GeoJSON**,
* YMCA, Jefferson, OH
* YMCA, Belleville, IL
Note that the results are spread out throughout the world. Since we haven't told the service anything about our current location or any other geographic context.
Spelling matters, but not capitalization when performing a query with Mapzen Search. You can type `ymca`, `YMCA`, or even `yMcA`. See for yourself by comparing the results of the previous search to the following:
Note that the results are spread out throughout the world because you have not given your current location or provided any other geographic context in which to search.
Sometimes it's necessary to limit the search to a portion of the world. This can be useful if you're looking for places in a particular region, or country, or only want to look in the immediate viscinity of a user with a known location. Different usecases call for different specifications of this bounding region. We currently support three types: **rectangle**, **circle**, and **country**.
## Narrow your search
### ...to a specific country
If you are looking for places in a particular region, or country, or only want to look in the immediate vicinity of a user with a known location, you can narrow your search to an area. There are different ways of including a region in your query. Mapzen Search currently supports three types: country, rectangle, and circle.
Sometimes your usecase might require that all the search results are from a particular country. Well, we've got that covered! You just need to set the `boundary.country` parameter value to the **alpha-2** or **alpha-3** [ISO-3166 country code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1).
Sometimes your work might require that all the search results be from a particular country. To do this, you can set the `boundary.country` parameter value to the alpha-2 or alpha-3 [ISO-3166 country code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1).
#### Example time
Let's search for **YMCA** again, but this time only in **Great Britain**. We'll need to know that the **alpha-3** code for **Great Britain** is ***GBR*** and set the parameters like this:
Now, you want to search for YMCA again, but this time only in Great Britain. To do this, you will need to know that the alpha-3 code for Great Britain is *GBR* and set the parameters like this:
In the case where you need to specify the boundary using a rectangle, all we need is a pair of coordinates on earth. Here are a few examples:
To specify the boundary using a rectangle, you need latitude, longitude coordinates for two diagonals of the bounding box (the mininum and the maximum latitude, longitude).
#### Example time
Let's say you wanted to find museums in the state of **Texas**. You'd need to set the `boundary.rect.*` parameter grouping to values representing the bounding box around **Texas**: min_lon=-106.65 min_lat=25.84 max_lon=-93.51 max_lat=36.5
For example, to find a YMCA within the state of Texas, you can set the `boundary.rect.*` parameter to values representing the bounding box around Texas: min_lon=-106.65 min_lat=25.84 max_lon=-93.51 max_lat=36.5
***PRO TIP:*** *You can lookup a bounding box for a known region [here](http://boundingbox.klokantech.com/)*
Tip: You can look up a bounding box for a known region with this [web tool](http://boundingbox.klokantech.com/)*
Sometimes you don't have a rectangle to work with, but rather you've got a point on earth, for example your location coordinates, and a maximum distance within which acceptable results can be located.
Sometimes you don't have a rectangle to work with, but rather you have a point on earth—for example, your location coordinates—and a maximum distance within which acceptable results can be located.
#### Example time
Find all **YMCA** locations within a **35km** radius of a spot in **Ontario, Canada**,
This time, we'll use the `boundary.circle.*` parameter grouping to get the job done. `boundary.circle.lat` and `boundary.circle.lon` should be set to your location in **Madrid**, while `boundary.circle.radius` should be set to the acceptable distance from that location. Note that the `boundary.circle.radius` parameter is always specified in **kilometers**.
In this example, you want to find all YMCA locations within a 35-kilometer radius of a location in Ontario, Canada. This time, you can use the `boundary.circle.*` parameter group, where `boundary.circle.lat` and `boundary.circle.lon` represents your location in Ontario and `boundary.circle.radius` is the acceptable distance from that location. Note that the `boundary.circle.radius` parameter is always specified in kilometers.
@ -144,7 +155,7 @@ This time, we'll use the `boundary.circle.*` parameter grouping to get the job d
| `boundary.circle.lon` | ***-79.186484*** |
| `boundary.circle.radius` | ***35*** |
You can see the results have fewer than the standard 10 items, because there aren't that many YMCA locations in the specified radius:
You can see the results have fewer than the standard 10 items because there are not that many YMCA locations in the specified radius:
> * YMCA, Toronto, Ontario
* YMCA, Markham, Ontario
@ -153,24 +164,22 @@ You can see the results have fewer than the standard 10 items, because there are
* Pinnacle Jr YMCA, Toronto, Ontario
* Cooper Koo Family Cherry Street YMCA Centre, Toronto, Ontario
### We respect your boundaries
### Specify multiple boundaries
If you're going to attempt using multiple boundary types in a single search request, be aware that the results will come from the **intersection** of all the boundaries! So if you provide regions that don't overlap, you'll be looking at an empty set of results. You've been warned. Here's a visual of how it works:
If you're going to attempt using multiple boundary types in a single search request, be aware that the results will come from the intersection of all the boundaries. So if you provide regions that don't overlap, you'll be looking at an empty set of results. You've been warned. Here's an image of how it works:
Many use cases call for the ability to promote nearby results to the top of the list, while still allowing important matches from farther away to be visible. Mapzen Search allows you to prioritize results within geographic boundaries, including around a point, within a country, or within a region.
## Prioritizing Nearby Places
Many usecases call for the ability to surface nearby results to the front of the list, while still allow important matches from further away to be visible. If that's your conundrum, here's what you've got to do.
Search will focus on a given point anywhere on earth, and results within **~100km** will be prioritized higher, thereby surfacing highest in the list. Once all the nearby results have been found, additional results will come from the rest of the world, without any further location-based prioritization.
By specifying a `focus.point`, nearby places will be scored higher depending on how close they are to the `focus.point` so that places with higher scores will appear higher in the results list. The effect of this scoring boost diminishes to zero after 100 kilometers away from the `focus.point`. After all the nearby results have been found, additional results will come from the rest of the world, without any further location-based prioritization.
#### Example time
Let's find **YMCA** again, but this time near **Sydney Opera House, Australia**
To find YMCA again, but this time near the a specific coordinate location (representing the Sydney Opera House) in Sydney, Australia.
@ -181,7 +190,7 @@ Let's find **YMCA** again, but this time near **Sydney Opera House, Australia**
| `focus.point.lat` | ***-33.856680*** |
| `focus.point.lon` | ***151.215281*** |
Looking at the results, you can see that the few locations closer to **Sydney** show up at the top of the list, sorted by distance. You also still get back a significant amount of remote locations, for a well balanced mix. Oh, and since you provided a focus point, we can now compute distance from that point for each result, so check that out in each feature.
Looking at the results, you can see that the few locations closer to this location show up at the top of the list, sorted by distance. You also still get back a significant amount of remote locations, for a well balanced mix. Because you provided a focus point, Mapzen Search can compute distance from that point for each resulting feature.
> * YMCA, Redfern, New South Wales [distance: 3.836]
* YMCA, St Ives (NSW), New South Wales [distance: 14.844]
@ -194,15 +203,14 @@ Looking at the results, you can see that the few locations closer to **Sydney**
* YMCA, Loughborough, United Kingdom [distance: 16978.367]
## Prioritizing within Boundaries
Now that we've seen how to use boundary and focus to narrow down and sort your results, let's examine a few scenarios where they work well together.
## Combine boundary search and prioritization
Now that you have seen how to use boundary and focus to narrow and sort your results, you can examine a few scenarios where they work well together.
### Prioritize within a country
**TBD: insert image here**
#### Example time
Let's revisit the YMCA search we conducted with a focus around the Sydney Opera House. When providing only `focus.point`, we saw results come back from distant parts of the world, as expected. But say you wanted to only see results from the country in which your focus point lies. Let's combine that same focus point, Sydney Opera House, with the country boundary of Australia. Check this out.
Going back to the YMCA search you conducted with a focus around a point in Sydney, the results came back from distant parts of the world, as expected. But say you wanted to only see results from the country in which your focus point lies. You can combine that same focus point in Sydney with the country boundary of Australia like this.
@ -214,7 +222,7 @@ Let's revisit the YMCA search we conducted with a focus around the Sydney Opera
| `focus.point.lon` | 151.215281 |
| `boundary.country` | ***AUS*** |
The results below look very different from the ones we saw previously with only a focus point specified. These results are all from within Australia. You'll note the closest results show up at the beginning of the list, which is facilitated by the focus parameter. Pretty spectacular, right!?
The results below look very different from the ones you saw previously with only a focus point specified. These results are all from within Australia. You'll note the closest results show up at the top of the list, which is facilitated by the focus parameter.
> * YMCA, Redfern, New South Wales [distance: 3.836]
* YMCA, St Ives (NSW), New South Wales [distance: 14.844]
@ -227,11 +235,11 @@ The results below look very different from the ones we saw previously with only
Let's say you're looking for the **nearest** YMCA locations, and are willing to travel no further than **50km** from your current location. You'd like the results to be sorted by distance from current location, in order to make your selection process easier. We can get this behavior by using `focus.point` in combination with `boundary.circle.*`. We can reuse the `focus.point.*` values as the `boundary.circle.lat` and `boundary.circle.lon`, and simply specify the required `boundary.circle.radius` value in kilometers.
If you are looking for the nearest YMCA locations, and are willing to travel no farther than 50 kilometers from your current location, you likely would want the results to be sorted by distance from current location to make your selection process easier. You can get this behavior by using `focus.point` in combination with `boundary.circle.*`. You can use the `focus.point.*` values as the `boundary.circle.lat` and `boundary.circle.lon`, and add the required `boundary.circle.radius` value in kilometers.
@ -245,7 +253,7 @@ Let's say you're looking for the **nearest** YMCA locations, and are willing to
| `boundary.circle.lon` | ***151.215281*** |
| `boundary.circle.radius` | ***50*** |
Check out the results. They are all less than 50km away from the focus point:
Looking at these results, they are all less than 50 kilometers away from the focus point:
> * YMCA, Redfern, New South Wales [distance: 3.836]
* YMCA, St Ives (NSW), New South Wales [distance: 14.844]
@ -254,14 +262,16 @@ Check out the results. They are all less than 50km away from the focus point:
* Caringbah YMCA, Caringbah, New South Wales [distance: 22.543]
* YMCA building, Loftus, New South Wales [distance: 25.756]
## Filtering your Search...
## Filter your search
Mapzen Search brings together data from multiple open sources and combines a variety of place types into a single database, allowing you options for selecting the dataset you want to search.
Mapzen search offers two types of options for selecting the dataset you want to search:
* `sources`: the originating source of the data
* `layers` : the kind of place you're looking to find
With Mapzen Search, you can filter by:
* `sources`: the originating source of the data
* `layers`: the kind of place you want to find
### ...by Data Source
Mapzen Search brings together data from various open sources. All the search examples we've seen so far, return a mix of results from all the different sources. Here's a list of what we import at this time:
### Filter by data source
The search examples so far have returned a mix of results from all the data sources available to Mapzen Search. Here are the sources currently being searched:
| source | name | short name |
|---|---|---|
@ -270,10 +280,9 @@ Mapzen Search brings together data from various open sources. All the search exa
We've added a helpful `sources` parameter to the Search API, to allow users to select which of these data sources they want to include in their search. So if you're only intersted in searching **OpenAddressses**, for example, your query would look as follows.
****TO DO: Add a description of each of these.*****
#### Example time
Let's search for **YMCA** again but only within the **OpenAddresses** data source.
If you use the `sources` parameter, you can choose which of these data sources to include in your search. So if you're only interested in finding a YMCA in data from OpenAddresses, for example, you can build a query specifying that data source.
@ -283,7 +292,7 @@ Let's search for **YMCA** again but only within the **OpenAddresses** data sourc
| `text` | YMCA |
| `sources` | **oa** |
Since OpenAddresses is, as the name suggests, only address data, here's what you can expect to find:
Because OpenAddresses is, as the name suggests, only address data, here's what you can expect to find:
> * 0 Ymca, New Brunswick
* 0 Ymca Drive, Cary, NC
@ -296,7 +305,7 @@ Since OpenAddresses is, as the name suggests, only address data, here's what you
* 101 Ymca Drive, Kannapolis, NC
* 31440 Ymca Road, Washington, OH
If you wanted to combine several data sources together, you would simply set `sources` to a comma separated list of desired source names. Note that the order of the comma separated values does not impact sorting order of the results. They are still sorted based on the linguistic match quality to `text` and distance from `focus`, if one was specified.
If you wanted to combine several data sources together, set `sources` to a comma separated list of desired source names. Note that the order of the comma separated values does not impact sorting order of the results; they are still sorted based on the linguistic match quality to `text` and distance from `focus`, if you specified one.
@ -306,8 +315,10 @@ If you wanted to combine several data sources together, you would simply set `so
| `text` | YMCA |
| `sources` | **osm,gn** |
### ...by Data Type
Mapzen Search brings together a variety of place types into a single database. We refer to these place types as `layers`, and think of them as ranging from *fine* to *coarse*. Our layers are derived from the hierarchy created by the gazetteer [Who's on First](https://github.com/whosonfirst/whosonfirst-placetypes/blob/master/README.md) and can be used to facilitate *coarse* geocoding. Here's a list of the types of places you could find in our results, sorted by granularity:
### Filter by data type
In Mapzen Search, place types are referred to as `layers`, ranging from fine to coarse. The Mapzen Search layers are derived from the hierarchy created by the gazetteer [Who's on First](https://github.com/whosonfirst/whosonfirst-placetypes/blob/master/README.md) and can be used to facilitate coarse geocoding. Here's a list of the types of places you could find in the results, sorted by granularity:
****TO DO: Describe fine and coarse geocoding, gazeteer. ***
|layer|description|
|----|----|
@ -321,103 +332,8 @@ Mapzen Search brings together a variety of place types into a single database. W
|`neighbourhood`|...ehm, neighbourhoods|
|`coarse`|alias for simultaneously using `country`, `region`, `county`, `locality`, `localadmin`, and `neighbourhood`|
#### Example time
*** COMING SOON***
# Using Autocomplete & Search Together
For end-user applications, `/autocomplete` is intended to be used alongside `/search` to facilitate real-time feedback for user s
## Results
Now that you've seen some examples of search, let's examine the results closer.
When requesting search results you will always get back `GeoJSON` results, unless something goes terribly wrong, in which case you'll get a really helpful error.
> _You can go [here](link.to.geojson.spec.com) to learn more about the `GeoJSON` data format specification.
> We'll assume you're familiar with the general layout and only point out some important details here._
You will find the following top-level structure to every response:
```javascript
{
"geocoding":{...},
"type":"FeatureCollection",
"features":[...],
"bbox":[...]
}
```
For the purposes of getting started quickly, let's keep our focus on the **features** property of the result.
This is where you will find the list of results that best matched your input parameters.
Each item in this list will contain all the information needed to identify it in human-readable format in the `properties` block, as well as computer friendly coordinates in the `geometry` property. Note the `label` property, which is a human-friendly representation of the place, ready to be displayed to an end-user.
```javascript
{
"type":"Feature",
"properties":{
"gid":"...",
"layer":"address",
"source":"osm",
"name":"30 West 26th Street",
"housenumber":"30",
"street":"West 26th Street",
"postalcode":"10010",
"country_a":"USA",
"country":"United States",
"region":"New York",
"region_a":"NY",
"county":"New York County",
"localadmin":"Manhattan",
"locality":"New York",
"neighbourhood":"Flatiron District",
"confidence":0.9624939994613662,
"label":"30 West 26th Street, Manhattan, NY"
},
"geometry":{
"type":"Point",
"coordinates":[
-73.990342,
40.744243
]
}
}
```
There is so much more to tell you about the plethora of data being returned for each search,
we had to split it out into its own section.
[Read more about the response format.](https://github.com/dianashk/pelias-doc/edit/master/getting-started/response.md)
## Result count
You may have noticed that there were **10** places in the results for all the previous search examples.
That's the _default_ number of results the API will return, unless otherwise specified.
#### Example time
Want a **single** result? Just set the `size` parameter to the desired number:
If you are building an end-user application, you can enable `/autocomplete` alongside the `/search` to add real-time feedback to help users find what they are looking for more easily, without requiring them to type the entire search term. Typically, the user starts typing and a drop-down list appears where they can choose the term from the list.
Reverse geocoding is used for finding places near a latitude/longitude pair. Think of it as clicking on a map to see what's there when the map doesn't show it otherwise. For example, picture a map in your mind with building outlines but no labels then clicking on a building and being shown what business is there. That's reverse geocoding.
Reverse geocoding is used for finding places or addresses near a latitude,longitude pair&mdashlike clicking on a map to see what's there when the map doesn't show it otherwise. For example, picture a map showing building outlines but no labels, then clicking on a building and being shown the name of the business. That's reverse geocoding.
With reverse geocoding, you can lookup all sorts of information about a point on a map, including:
With reverse geocoding with Mapzen Search, you can lookup all sorts of information about points on a map, including:
* addresses
* points of interest (businesses, museums, parks, etc)
* points of interest (businesses, museums, parks, and so on)
* neighborhoods
* cities
* states
* postal areas
* countries
So [go get an API key](https://mapzen.com/developers) and let's get started.
## The Basics
To get started with reverse geocoding, all you need is an API key and a latitude/longitude pair specified with the parameters `point.lat` and `point.lon`, respectively. For example, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is at the latitude/longitude pair `48.858268,2.294471`. The reverse geocode query for this would be:
To get started with reverse geocoding, you need a [free, developer API key](https://mapzen.com/developers) and a latitude,longitude pair in decimal degrees specified with the parameters `point.lat` and `point.lon`, respectively. For example, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, is located at `48.858268,2.294471`. The reverse geocode query for this would be:
`boundary.country` | <ahref="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1"target="\_blank">ISO-3166 alpha-2 or alpha-3</a> | no | none | `FR`
### Size
The most basic parameter for filtering is `size` that is used to limit the number of results returned. In the previous request that returned the Eiffel Tower (or 'Tour Eiffel', to be exact), notice that other results were returned including "Bureau de Gustave Eiffel" (a museum) and "Le Jules Verne" (a restaurant). To limit a reverse geocode to only the first result, just pass the `size` parameter:
A basic parameter for filtering is `size`, which is used to limit the number of results returned. In the previous request that returned the Eiffel Tower (or 'Tour Eiffel', to be exact), notice that other results were returned including "Bureau de Gustave Eiffel" (a museum) and "Le Jules Verne" (a restaurant). To limit a reverse geocode to only the first result, pass the `size` parameter:
The default value for `size` is `10` and the maximum value is `40`. Specifying a value greater than `40` will override to `40` and return a warning in the response metadata.
### Sources
### Filter by data source
By default, reverse geocoding will return results from any source. To filter results by source, specify one or more valid source names in a comma-delimited list using the `sources` parameter. For example, the following request returns only results from OSM:
By default, reverse geocoding returns results from any source available to Mapzen Search. To filter results by source, specify one or more valid source names in a comma-delimited list using the `sources` parameter. For example, the following request returns only results from OpenStreetMap:
For more information on the data each source provides, see [this link](http://source link).
***TO DO: Add correct link**** For more information on the data each source provides, see [this link](http://source link).
### Layers
### Filter by layers
Without specifying further, reverse geocoding doesn't restrict results to a particular type (street, venue, neighbourhood, etc). If your application is only concerned with, say, which city a latitude/longitude is closest to, then use the `layers` parameter. For example, the following request returns only results that are localities (cities and towns):
Without specifying further, reverse geocoding doesn't restrict results to a particular type (street, venue, neighbourhood, and so on). If your application is only concerned with, say, which city a latitude, longitude is closest to, then use the `layers` parameter. For example, the following request returns only results that are localities (cities and towns):
For more information on what the different layers mean, see [this link](http://layers link).
***TO DO: Add correct link**** For more information on what the different layers mean, see [this link](http://layers link).
### Country
### Filter by country
Let's say you're reverse geocoding close a country boundary but you are only interested in results from one country and not the other. In that case, you would specify the 2- or 3-character ISO code of the country you're interested in to only get those results back. For example, the latitude/longitude pair `47.270521,9.530846` is right on the boundary of Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. Without specifying a `boundary.country` parameter value, the first 10 results returned would be from all 3 countries. By specifying `boundary.country=LIE`, all 10 results will be from Liechtenstein. Here's the request in action:
If you are performing a reverse geocode near a country boundary, and are only interested in results from one country and not the other, you can specify a country code. You can set the `boundary.country` parameter value to the alpha-2 or alpha-3 [ISO-3166 country code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1). For example, the latitude,longitude pair `47.270521,9.530846` is on the boundary of Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. Without specifying a `boundary.country`, the first 10 results returned may come from all three countries. By including `boundary.country=LIE`, all 10 results will be from Liechtenstein. Here's the request in action:
Please click <ahref="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1"target="\_blank">here</a> for the full list of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and alpha-3 country codes.
Note that `UK` is not a valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
Also note that `UK` is not a valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
## Confidence scores for the results
## Confidence Scores
Each result returned has an associated confidence score. Currently confidence scores are calculated based on the distance from the result to the supplied `point.lat` and `point.lon`. Confidence scoring for reverse geocode results is likely to change with different data sources and layers.
Each result returned has an associated confidence score. Currently confidence scores are calculated based on the distance from the result to the supplied `point.lat` and `point.lon`.
distance from `point.lat`/`point.lon` | Confidence Score
Distance from `point.lat`/`point.lon` | Confidence score
--- | ---
< 1m | 1.0
< 10m | 0.9
@ -74,42 +77,21 @@ distance from `point.lat`/`point.lon` | Confidence Score
< 1km | 0.6
>= 1km | 0.5
Confidence scoring for reverse geocode results is likely to change to take into account different data sources and layers.
## Parameters
This section provides a quick reference for parameters applicable to reverse geocoding requests.
#### Only OpenStreetMap results near the Tower of London
* All results near the Tower of London >[/v1/reverse?api\_key={YOUR-KEY}&point.lat=51.5081124&point.lon=-0.0759493](https://search.mapzen.com/v1/reverse?api_key={YOUR_API_KEY}&point.lat=51.5081124&point.lon=-0.0759493)
* Only OpenStreetMap results near the Tower of London
For example, this /place query looks up the Eiffel Tower in OSM:
***From Rhonda -- looks like this returns a radio station in Michigan? Also need to redo the query to include production server and the reader's API key***
*** From Rhonda -- what are some examples of when you would use a /place search? When would you have this info and need to get the details? What would you do with it.***
## Advanced Usage
## Search for multiple places in a query
To request more than 1 /place lookup in one request, simply join multiple values together delimited by comma.
For example, this /place query looks up the Eiffel Tower in OSM and `30 West 26th St, New York, NY` in OpenAddresses:
To search for more than one `/place` in a request, join multiple values together and separate them with a comma. For example, this /place query looks up the Eiffel Tower in OSM and `30 West 26th St, New York, NY` in OpenAddresses:
***From Rhonda -- is there another example where you might do multiple requests at the same time...in other words, more related locations?***
If you enter a `source:layer:id` combination that cannot be found then the `features` array in the response will continue a different number of elements than the number of requests. This will be most noticeable in multi-id requests since your request may have 3 ids requested but only 2 results returned. The reason for this is that the `features` section of the response is GeoJSON-compliant and there is currently no way to convey an exception condition (not even an empty JSON element, `{}`). For this reason, if your application is dependent upon the results mapping directly to the individual input requests in order, then you'll have to do your own bookkeeping to handle with exception conditions.
Keep in mind that if you enter a `source:layer:id` combination that cannot be found, then the `features` array in the response contains a different number of elements than the number of requests. This will be most noticeable in requests with multiple IDs, as your request may have three IDs requested but only two results returned. The reason for this is that the `features` section of the response is GeoJSON-compliant and there is currently no way to convey an exception condition (not even an empty JSON element, `{}`). For this reason, if your application is dependent upon the results mapping directly to the individual input requests in order, then you'll have to do your own bookkeeping to handle with exception conditions.
## Valid combinations
## Valid combinations of place searches
Some combinations of `sources` and `layers` are valid while others aren't. Please use the following table for reference:
Some combinations of `sources` and `layers` are valid while others are not. This table shows valid combinations.
When requesting results from Mapzen Search, you will always get back `GeoJSON` results, unless something goes terribly wrong, in which case you'll get an error message.
Tip: You can go to http://geojson.org/geojson-spec.html to learn more about the GeoJSON data format specification.
The top-level structure to every response looks like this:
```json
{
"geocoding":{...},
"type":"FeatureCollection",
"features":[...],
"bbox":[...]
}
```
##List of `features` returned
The `features` property of the result is where you will find the list of results that best matched your input parameters.
Each item in this list will contain all the information needed to identify it in human-readable format in the `properties` block, as well as computer friendly coordinates in the `geometry` property. Note the `label` property, which is a human-friendly representation of the place, ready to be displayed to an end-user.
```json
{
"type":"Feature",
"properties":{
"gid":"...",
"layer":"address",
"source":"osm",
"name":"30 West 26th Street",
"housenumber":"30",
"street":"West 26th Street",
"postalcode":"10010",
"country_a":"USA",
"country":"United States",
"region":"New York",
"region_a":"NY",
"county":"New York County",
"localadmin":"Manhattan",
"locality":"New York",
"neighbourhood":"Flatiron District",
"confidence":0.9624939994613662,
"label":"30 West 26th Street, Manhattan, NY"
},
"geometry":{
"type":"Point",
"coordinates":[
-73.990342,
40.744243
]
}
}
```
## Result count
By default, Mapzen Search results 10 places, unless otherwise specified. If you want a different number of results, set the `size` parameter to the desired number. This example shows returning only the first result.
Peter Johnson a.k.a. insertcoffee
9 years ago