Layers¶

Our geocoding and search database is organized into layers (in the GIS sense). You can use this information in several ways:

To limit your search to only the layers you need, using the layers parameter to any geocoding and search endpoint (as a comma-separated list such as address,street)
To display results with distinctive iconography or other design elements to aid users in finding what they seek
To determine which results to prioritize when selecting from multiple alternatives

Layer	Description
`venue` (v1) / `poi` (v2)	Points of interest, businesses, buildings, etc.
`address`	A street address
`street`	Streets, roads, highways
`country`	Places that issue passports, nations, nation-states
`macroregion`	A related group of regions (mostly in Europe)
`region`	States and provinces
`macrocounty`	A related group of counties (mostly in Europe)
`county`	Official governmental areas; usually bigger than a locality, but almost always smaller than a region
`locality`	Towns, hamlets, cities, etc.
`localadmin`	Local administrative boundaries
`borough`	Local administrative boundaries within cities (not widely used, but present in places such as NYC and Mexico City)
`neighbourhood`	Social communities and neighborhoods (note the British spelling in the API!)
`postalcode`	Postal codes used by mail services (note: not used for reverse geocoding at this time)
`coarse`	An alias that lets you simultaneously query all administrative layers (everything except `venue`/`poi` and `address`)