Geographic Information

System (GIS)

Lecture 10: Geoencoding Concept

Collected and Edited by:

Dr. Mina Younan
Lecturer of Computer Science,
Faculty of Computers and Information, Minia University

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 Agenda

• Geocoding
• Variations of Geocoding
• Applications of Geocoding
• Dynamic Segmentation
• Applications of Dynamic Segmentation

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 Introduction

• The geocoding was done manually then, but now it is performed

regularly on the Internet.
• For example, how can we find a nearby bank in an unfamiliar city?
With a cell phone, we can go online, use a browser such as Google
Maps, zoom in to the closest street intersection, and search for nearby
banks.
• After a bank is selected, we can have a street view of the bank and its
surrounding.
• Although not apparent to us, this routine activity involves geocoding,
the process of plotting street addresses or intersections as point
features on a map.
• Geocoding has become one of the most commercialized operations
that are related to geographic information system (GIS).

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 Introduction

• Like geocoding, dynamic segmentation can also locate spatial

features from a data source that lacks x- and y-coordinates.
• Dynamic segmentation works with linearly referenced data such as
traffic accidents, which are typically reported in linear distances from
some known points (e.g., mileposts)

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 Geocoding
• Geocoding refers to the process of converting text-based postal address
data into digital geographic coordinates (i.e., longitude and latitude pairs)
• The most common type of geocoding is address geocoding, or address
matching, which plots street addresses as point features on a map.

• Address geocoding requires two sets

of data:
o The first data set contains individual
Name Address ZIP
street addresses in a table, one record
Minia
per address as shown in the table. University
Shallaby 61519
o The second is a reference database Gov.
Abu-Fleo 61519
that consists of a street map and Hospital
attributes for each street segment
such as the street name, address
ranges, and ZIP codes.
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 Geocoding
• Geocoding Reference Database must have a road network with
appropriate attributes for geocoding. Many GIS projects in the United
States, including a historical GIS project, have derived a geocoding
reference database from the TIGER/ Line files.
• the TIGER/Line files contain legal and statistical area boundaries such as
counties, census tracts, and block groups, as well as streets, roads, streams,
and water bodies. The TIGER/Line attributes also include for each street
segment the street name, the beginning and end address numbers on each
side, and the ZIP code on each side

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 Geocoding
The Address Matching Process
• The geocoding process uses a geocoding engine to convert street
addresses to geographic coordinates.
• GIS users can use a geocoding engine embedded in a GIS package, or a
free online mapping service such as Google Maps, Bing Maps, Apple
Maps, or Batchgeo (https://en.batchgeo.com/).
• Geocoding using an online mapping service is usually limited by the
number of addresses that can be geocoded at one time.
• In general, the geocoding process consists of three phases:
o Preprocessing: involves parsing and address standardization. Parsing
breaks down an address into a number of components
o Matching: the geocoding engine matches the address against a reference
database.
o Plotting: the final step is to plot matched address as a point feature
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 Geocoding
• Suppose the reference database is derived from the TIGER/Line files. The
geocoding engine first locates the street segment in the reference
database that contains the address in the input table. Then it interpolates
where the address falls within the address range.
• For example, if the address is 620 and the address range is from 600 to 700
in the database, the address will be located about one-fifth of the street
segment from 600 (1st Figure), This process is linear interpolation.
The 2nd Figure shows a geocoded map in which street addresses are
converted into point features.

Linear interpolation for address Address geocoding plots street

geocoding. addresses as points on a map.
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 Geocoding: Address Matching Options
Address Matching Options
• A geocoding engine must have options to deal with possible errors in the
address table, the reference database, or both. Typically, a geocoding engine
has provisions/rules for relaxing the matching conditions.
• For each unmatched address, the geocoding engine lists available
candidates based on the minimum candidate score. We can either accept a
candidate for a match or modify the unmatched address before running the
geocoding process again.

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 Geocoding: Offset Plotting Options
Offset Plotting Options
• The side offset and the end offset are options that allow a geocoded
address to be plotted away from its interpolated location along a street
segment.
• The side offset places a geocoded point at a specified distance from the
side of a street segment. This option is useful for point-in-polygon overlay
analysis, such as linking addresses to census tracts or land parcels

• The end offset places a point feature at a

distance from the end point of a street
segment, thus preventing the geocoded
point from falling on top of a cross
street.
• The end offset uses a distance that is
given as a specified percentage of the
length of a street segment.
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 Geocoding: Quality of Geocoding
Quality of Geocoding
• The quality of geocoding is often expressed by the “hit” rate, the
percentage of street addresses that are geocoded.
• Geocoding errors can be caused by the input data.
o Street address records may include misspelling of the street name,
incorrect {address number, direction prefix or suffix, street type}, and
missing ZIP code.
o The reference database may be outdated with no information on new
streets, street name changes, street closings, and ZIP code changes. In
some cases, the database may even have missing address ranges, gaps in
address ranges, or incorrect ZIP codes

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 Variations Of Geocoding
• Intersection matching, also called corner matching, matches address data
with street intersections on a map
• An address entry for intersection matching
must list two streets such as “ESherman Ave &
N 4th St.”
• A geocoding engine finds the location of the
point where the two streets intersect.
• Intersection matching is a common geocoding
method for police collision report data.
• ZIP code geocoding matches a ZIP code to the
code’s centroid location. It differs from address
matching or intersection matching in two ways.
o First, it is not street-level geocoding.
o Second, it uses a reference database that contains the x and y-
coordinates, either geographic or projected, of ZIP code centroids,
rather than a street network.
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 Variations Of Geocoding
In brief:
• Intersection matching, also called corner matching, matches address data
with street intersections on a map
• Parcel-level geocoding matches a parcel number to the parcel’s centroid
location and, if a parcel database is available, plots the parcel boundary.
• Reverse geocoding is the reverse of address geocoding; it converts point
locations into descriptive addresses.
• Place name alias geocoding matches a place name such as a well-known
restaurant or a museum with a street address, locates the street address, and
plots it as a point feature. It requires a place name alias table, complete with
place names and their street addresses.
• Photo geocoding attaches location information to photographs.

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 Applications Of Geocoding
• Geocoding is perhaps the most commercialized GIS-related operation; it
plays an important role in location-based services and other business
applications. Geocoding is also a tool for wireless emergency service, crime
mapping and analysis, and public health monitoring.
• Application List:
o Location-Based Services
o Business Applications
o Wireless Emergency Services
o Crime Mapping and Analysis
o Public Health

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 Dynamic Segmentation
• Dynamic segmentation can be defined as the process of computing
dynamically the location of events along a route
• Route is a linear feature, such as a street, highway, or stream used in
a GIS, which also has a linear measurement system stored with its
geometry.
• Events are linearly referenced data, such as speed limits, traffic
accidents, or fishery habitat conditions, which occur along routes.

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 Dynamic Segmentation
Creating Routes:
• A route links a series of line segments
together. In a GIS, routes can be created
interactively or through data conversion.
o Using the interactive method, we must first
digitize a route or select existing lines from a
layer that make up a route (Figure)

o The data conversion method can create routes at

once from all linear features or from features
selected by a data query. For example, we can
create a route system for each numbered
highway in a state or for each interstate
highway

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 Dynamic Segmentation
Creating Routes:
• When creating routes, we must be aware of
different types of routes. Routes may be
grouped into the following four types:
o Simple route: a route follows one direction and
does not loop or branch.
o Combined route: a route is joined with another
route.
o Split route: a route subdivides into two routes.
o Looping route: a route intersects itself.

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 Dynamic Segmentation
• Dynamic segmentation can convert linearly referenced data stored in a
tabular report into events along routes. Once these data are associated with
routes, they can be displayed, queried, and analyzed in a GIS environment.

Applications Of Dynamic Segmentation

• Data Management
• Data Display
• Data Query
• Data Analysis

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 Key Notes
• Address geocoding: A process of plotting street addresses in a table as point
features on a map. Also called address matching.
• Combined route: A route that is joined with another route.
• Dynamic segmentation: The process of computing the location of events
along a route.
• Events: Attributes occurring along a route.
• Geocoding: A process of assigning spatial locations to data that are in
tabular format but have fields that describe their locations.
• Intersection matching: A process of plotting street intersections as point
features on a map. Also called corner matching.
• Line events: Events that occur along a portion of a route, such as pavement
conditions.
• Looping route: A route that intersects itself.
• Parcel-level geocoding: A process of matching a parcel number to the
parcel’s centroid location.
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 Key Notes
• Photo geocoding: A process of attaching location information to
photographs.
• Place name alias geocoding: A process of plotting place names such as
well-known restaurants as point features on a map.
• Point events: Events that occur at point locations along a route, such as
accidents and stop signs.
• Reverse geocoding: A process of converting location data in latitude and
longitude into descriptive addresses.
• Route: A linear feature that has a linear measurement system stored with its
geometry.
• Simple route: A route that follows one direction and does not loop or
branch.
• Split route: A route that subdivides into two routes.
• ZIP code geocoding: A process of matching ZIP codes to their centroid
locations.
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