Geocoding and Address Matching

Udechukwu Chinazom Sophia 18CL024847

Ikpeba Sonia 18CL024837
Osarenomase Iyamu 18CL024838
 Table Of Contents

1. What is geocoding?
2. What is address geocoding?
3. Requirements for address geocoding
4. Process of address geocoding
5. User steps
6. Geocoding options
7. Output options
8. Data sources
9. Geocoding application
10.Caution, warnings.
 Geocoding

• The process by which spatial locations

are determined using coordinate
locations specified in a
database table
• - Coordinates are expressed as X,Y
values; Coordinate Systems may be
Latitude/Longitude, UTM, State Plane,
local, or others
• Results can be “events” [points]
or “routes” [lines]
Geocoding in ArcGIS

Use “Geocode
Addresses…” in ArcGIS to
create features based on
a table of coordinates

Right-click the
table in ArcMap
or ArcCatalog

Same tool, from menu in ArcMap

Geocoding in ArcGIS

Toolbar

Toolbox
Address Geocoding
(aka “Address Matching”)

• The process by which spatial locations are determined

(i.e. creating points) using addresses specified in a
database table
• Addresses in the database table are matched to
address ranges specified in a reference spatial
data set (e.g., streets, ZIP codes, parcels, structures)
• Real world coordinates are assigned to every matched
address, with the real world coordinates being derived
from the reference spatial data set
• Address-matching is an “interpolative” process
and therefore not very precise
Requirements

A table with addresses

Example:
The fields in the
– Address: Street number and table correlate to
the
name requirements of
the geocoding
engine
– Zone: ZIP Code or City/Town,
etc
A reference theme (e.g. street
segments with address ranges,
parcel polygons with address)
Software (like ArcGIS, MapInfo,
etc.) or a Web service
Process

Each address is “parsed” into

components and the components are
compared with the address ranges in
the reference theme
When a table address falls within (i.e.
matches) the address range of a street
segment, an interpolation is
performed to locate and assign real-
world coordinates to the address (i.e.,
“geocode it”)
 Interpolation

The coordinate location of the address is

estimated using the address ranges of
the street segment
Example: Let’s say 12 Main Street is
the address you want to map

Segment ranges:
12 Main Street placed here
(but could be to the left or right of this in
reality)

From/To Left: 10-18

MAIN STREET MAIN STREET From/To Right: 11-19 MAIN STREET
Interpolation

Warning:
check your
addresses.
There may
not be a 12
Main
Street.
 Interpolation

Warning: Actual location may be far

from interpolated point location.

100 Morrissey Blvd.

(geocoded point location)
Better Reference Data

Use reference data with specific

address information that does not
require interpolation.
– Parcels
– Structures
• Center
• Entrance
• Access

32 Glenwood Ave.
Parcel centroid
Building centroid
Building entrance
Building access point
 Address Locators

The first step involves setting up an

“Address Locator” (“GeoCoding Service” in
ArcGIS 8.x)
An Address Locator contains the
following:
– path and file name of the reference dataset
– rules for standardized descriptions of numbers,
names, directions, text, etc. in the reference dataset
– parameters for reading address data
– parameters for matching address data
– parameters for creating output datasets

Address Locators appear inside folders or

at the top level of geodatabases
 Some Address Locator Styles

Style Reference Theme Type

US Streets with Zone Lines

US Streets
US Single Range with Zone Lines
US Single Range
US Single House with Zone Lines
US Single House
ZIP + 4 Lines
ZIP + 4 Range Points or Polygons
Composite ** CombinesPoints
existing
or Locators
Polygons Points
** = Not available in SDE
Points or Polygons
User Steps - 1

Create table of addresses and

standardize the address by
parsing into component parts
based on the specified address
style
– Examine the reference dataset
attributes for components that are
the same or similar to the
standardized address
User Steps - 2

Create Address Locator (if

necessary)
– Adjust Geocoding Options
User Steps - 3

• Perform the matching in “batch”

mode
• Evaluate results and interactively
“match” individual unmatched
records
– Or adjust
See•ArcGIS Help oroptions (in next slide) and redo batch
match
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.2/#/What_is_geocoding/002500000001000000/
Geocoding Options

Spelling Sensitivity
– how much variation to allow in the matching process
– low levels would allow “Main”, “Mane” and “Maine” as
potential candidates for “244 Main St”
Score
– score from 0 to 100 for each potential candidate
based on matching all address components based on
the chosen geocoding style
Minimum Candidate Score
– threshold score from 0 to 100 that allows reporting
of potential candidates
Minimum Match Score
– rigor specification determining how well address in
the table match reference layer components – a
score of 75 to 100 is a good match
 Output Options

Side Offset
– offsets a matched address so many map units to the
left or right of the street segment, based on the parity
of the match
End Offset
– applies a “squeeze” factor at ends of line segment to
prevent points from being confused with matches in
other street segments
X,Y Coordinates
– adds X and Y coordinates in output layer fields
Standardized Address
– adds the standardized address in an output layer field
Reference Data ID
– adds the value of the ID of the reference dataset
segment in an output layer field [-1 if unmatched]
Percent Along
– output layer field containing percent distance along
reference dataset feature from the “from” node
Data Sources

Addresses:
– Company databases, mailing lists
– Compile – research, web or paper “yellow pages”
– Purchase
Reference Data:
– Buy it (NavTeq, TeleAtlas, etc.)
– Download it free (census.gov, MassGIS, etc.)
– StreetMap USA extension to ArcGIS
– Create it or pay to create it (from parcel maps, street
maps)
– MGISDATA.CENSUS2000TIGER_ARC in SDE in lab
Can also use Alternate Name table and an
Alias table
Geocoding Applications

• A company can match customer addresses

against a street network of their distributor
service areas in order to know which
distributor will handle a customer. The
information could also be used to perform
marketing analysis for each service area
• A police department could use address geocoding
to analyze crimes by address. These locations
can be mapped and analyzed with other
demographic data
• Emergency dispatch operators could use geocoding
to enter an address, determine who should
respond, and route emergency vehicles and
personnel to the address
Geocoding Applications

A school district could use geocoding to

match student addresses against a street
map of a city. Once the homes of students
are located, school assignments and
busing plans can be created and analyzed
Environmental engineers can identify
potential impacts of storage facilities for
hazardous materials in populated areas
by matching the site addresses to a theme
containing census data
Data development – Create layers like
police and fire stations, schools, town halls,
libraries, prisons …
Caution, Warnings

Address matching can be a laborious

process and is a function of the accuracy
of the address table and reference theme.
Use software’s “batch matching”
functionality, then match interactively for
those not matched
An address table may have typos,
incorrectly spelled street names, blanks,
common names, etc., and data can be out-
of-date.
Some buildings can have “vanity
addresses”
(e.g. “One Executive Plaza”)
Caution, Warnings

Make sure and be prepared to

have a verification process. i.e. a
good atlas
The reference data may not be
spatially accurate at large scales
(like TIGER roads), so resulting
points may need to be adjusted
using better basemap layers (like
ortho imagery)
Help

The Geocoding Tutorial

http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.2/#/About_the_Geo

coding_tutorial/002500000006000000/