Ask "who or what is within X miles of this address?" and get an instant map, filtered results, and an optimized route. Complex spatial queries, no GIS expertise required.
The Challenge
Any team that works in the field runs into the same wall: finding every record within a radius of an address used to mean running database queries, cross-referencing spreadsheets, and plotting routes by hand. A simple "who's within half a mile of this intersection?" could eat 20 minutes, time the people out doing the work don't have.
Our Approach
We built a web-based mapping interface with spatial database indexing at its core. The map is the tool: enter an address and a radius, and it instantly plots every matching record as a color-coded marker. A multi-source geocoding pipeline (local cache first, public geocoder as fallback) keeps address-to-coordinate lookups fast and reliable, and caching means repeated searches don't pay the same cost twice.
Key Features
- Radius Search: Enter any address and radius (0.1 to 5+ miles) to surface every record in that area with a spatial query
- Route Optimization: A nearest-neighbor algorithm builds efficient routes; click any point to re-sequence from there
- Spatial Speed at Scale: An index-based prefilter narrows the set before precise distance math, so results stay fast even on large datasets
- Multi-Criteria Filtering: Narrow by category or custom fields with results updating live
- Field-Ready Outputs: Interactive map, sortable table, CSV export, and a print-optimized view
- Proximity lookups drop from minutes to seconds
- Non-technical staff run complex spatial queries on their own
- The same engine adapts across use cases: field service, delivery routing, outreach, inspections, and real estate
The Results
Technologies Used
Leaflet.js, PHP, MySQL with spatial indexing, public geocoding APIs, Docker