Geospatial Engine
The spatial data management, mapping, and location intelligence layer for the entire Civic platform — every module that needs maps, geocoding, or spatial queries plugs into Geospatial Engine.
Map Load
Geocode Latency
Parcel Fabric
Uptime SLA
Purpose-Built for Canadian Municipalities
How It Works
The identity journey, step by step
From first registration to golden record resolution — how a resident's identity evolves across the platform.
Address Lookup & Property Info
A resident searches for their property on the public map to view zoning and assessment details.
How it works
The resident opens the public map viewer, types their address into the autocomplete search bar, and the map zooms to their property. They click the parcel to see a popup with roll number, zoning designation, official plan designation, assessment value, and property class. Links in the popup navigate to property tax and planning portals.
Step 1 of 5
Purpose & Scope
What this module owns
Clear ownership boundaries prevent duplication and ensure every capability has exactly one authoritative home.
Owns
14Delegated to
3IoT sensor data collection
Asset business logic
Document/photo storage
These capabilities are handled by dedicated modules and consumed via stable API contracts — keeping boundaries clean and ownership unambiguous.
Core Capabilities
What it does
5 capability groups comprising 11 discrete capabilities — each with API surface, business rules, and data ownership.
Pan, zoom, identify, measure, print — embedded in any module screen with base map switching and layer control.
Interactive Map
Pan, zoom, identify, measure, print — embedded in any module screen.
Base Maps
Municipal aerial imagery (current + historical), OpenStreetMap, satellite, topographic, dark/light themes.
Layer Control
Toggle layers on/off; adjust opacity; reorder; filter by attribute.
Popups
Click features to see attribute popup with links to source records.
Bookmarks
Save and share map extent + layer configuration as named bookmarks.
Clustering, heatmaps, choropleth, time slider, and split/swipe comparison for rich data visualization on maps.
Clustering
Auto-cluster dense point features at lower zoom levels.
Heatmaps
Density heatmap visualization for point data (e.g., service request hotspots).
Choropleth
Thematic maps by ward, neighbourhood, census tract, postal code.
Time Slider
Animate temporal data (e.g., construction progress, snow plow routes over time).
Split/Swipe
Compare two time periods side-by-side (e.g., before/after aerial imagery).
Draw point, line, polygon for markup, measurement, or area selection directly on the map.
Drawing Tools
Draw point, line, polygon for markup, measurement, or area selection.
Print/Export
Print map layouts as PDF with scale bar, legend, north arrow.
CRS Transforms
Coordinate reference system transformations between NAD83, WGS84, UTM Zone 17N.
Real-World Scenarios
Who uses this, and how
3 persona-driven scenarios showing how Geospatial Engine works in practice — from resident registration to privacy compliance.
Bylaw Manager
Complaint Hotspot Analysis
The bylaw manager wants to identify noise complaint hotspots to optimize officer patrol territories for the summer season.
Steps
- 1The bylaw manager opens the GIS viewer and enables the 'Bylaw Cases' layer filtered to noise complaints for the past 12 months
- 2They switch the visualization to heatmap mode to see complaint density
- 3High-density clusters appear in three neighbourhoods near construction zones and entertainment districts
- 4They draw polygon boundaries for proposed patrol territories around each hotspot
- 5A spatial query returns officer count and historic case volume for each proposed zone
- 6They export the analysis as a PDF map report for the bylaw committee meeting
Outcome
Data-driven patrol territory redesign based on actual complaint patterns. Officer deployment optimized for high-volume areas, reducing average response time by an estimated 15%.
View scenario
Planning Technician
Development Application Review
A developer submits a site plan application and the planning technician needs to assess zoning compliance and identify circulation notice recipients.
Steps
- 1The technician opens the parcel in the map viewer and overlays the zoning layer to verify the proposed use is permitted
- 2They upload the developer's site plan DWG file as a temporary overlay
- 3They run a 120m buffer query to identify all properties requiring circulation notice
- 4The system returns 47 parcels with owner names and mailing addresses
- 5They check the official plan designation and confirm conformity
- 6They generate a shadow analysis for the 6-storey building to assess impact on adjacent properties
Outcome
Complete development review with zoning check, notice list generation, and shadow impact analysis — all from a single map interface without switching between systems.
View scenario
Emergency Management Coordinator
Flood Evacuation Zone Mapping
Spring flooding threatens a low-lying neighbourhood and the coordinator needs to define evacuation zones and count affected residents.
Steps
- 1The coordinator opens the flood risk layer and overlays real-time water level data from IoT sensors
- 2They draw a polygon around the at-risk flood zone based on topographic contours
- 3A spatial query returns all civic addresses and parcels within the zone (342 residential properties, 12 commercial)
- 4They generate drive-time isochrones from the two nearest emergency shelters
- 5The coordinator exports the address list to the notification engine for emergency alerts
- 6A PDF map showing the evacuation zone, shelter locations, and major evacuation routes is distributed to first responders
Outcome
Real-time flood zone delineation with precise resident counts and shelter routing. Emergency alerts sent to 342 households within minutes of zone designation.
View scenario
Internal Architecture
How it's built
3 architectural layers comprising 18 components — from API gateway to data quality engine.
3 layers · 18 total components
Geospatial Engine
Every module owns a single bounded context, exposes stable APIs, and can be composed into any Civic product — that's the architecture that scales.
Krutik Parikh
Creator of Civic
Data Model
Entity Architecture
4 entities with 4 relationships — the authoritative schema for this bounded context.
Entities
Select an entity to explore its fields and relationships
API Surface
Integration Endpoints
17 RESTful endpoints across 5 resource groups — plus 4 domain events for async integration.
/api/v1/geo/layers
List available map layers
/api/v1/geo/layers/{code}/features
Get features from layer (with spatial/attribute filter)
/api/v1/geo/layers/{code}/tile/{z}/{x}/{y}
Vector tile endpoint
Ecosystem
Products that depend on this module
25 Civic products consume Geospatial Engine — making it one of the most critical platform services in the ecosystem.
GIS
This IS the GIS spec — full geospatial platform
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Property Tax
Parcel map, assessment boundaries, tax map, ownership
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Planning & Development
Zoning map, official plan, circulation notice zone (buffer), site plan overlay
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Building Inspection
Locate permit by address, inspection route planning
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Bylaw Enforcement
Complaint location mapping, officer territory zones
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CRM / 311
Map service requests, hotspot analysis, ward routing
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Work Orders / 311
Work order location, crew routing, asset location
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Asset Management
Asset inventory map (roads, bridges, water mains, facilities)
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Fire Services
Station coverage areas, hydrant locations, response time isochrones
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Emergency Management
Hazard mapping, evacuation zones, resource deployment
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Transit
Route mapping, stop locations, service area coverage
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Utility Billing
Meter locations, service area mapping, infrastructure networks
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Stormwater
Drainage areas, catchment mapping, flooding risk zones
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Forestry
Tree inventory map, canopy coverage, planting zones
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Cemetery
Plot/section mapping, available plot search
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Parking
Parking zone mapping, meter locations, enforcement zones
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Smart City / IoT
Sensor location mapping, environmental monitoring stations
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Climate & ESG
GHG emission hotspots, flood risk, urban heat island mapping
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Land Registry
Survey plans, easement mapping, boundary overlay
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Recreation
Facility locations, trail mapping, park boundaries
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Waste & Recycling
Collection route mapping, depot locations, contamination mapping
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Road & Pavement
Road network, pavement condition mapping, construction zones
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Economic Development
Available land/buildings, industrial parks, commercial corridors
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Tourism & Events
Points of interest, event locations, walking tours
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Open Data
GeoJSON/WFS datasets for open data portal
View product →
Technical Specifications
Performance, Compliance & Configuration
Availability
Map Load
Geocoding
Spatial Query
Feature Count
Coordinate Systems
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Integrate
Build on Geospatial Engine
Request an architecture brief, integration guide, or live demo environment for your team.