Mapping locations is easily accomplished through solutions that leverage Google Maps or other resources. With these tools, it is possible to add maps to any search results that include coordinates.

However, mapping is only part of the solution, as not all geographic information can be expressed as points. In true geospatial applications, there are other representations such as lines and geographic polygons. Zoning information, municipal boundaries, coverage areas and wind maps are all examples of information that should be expressed as areas and shapes (polygons) rather than simple dots. This type of storage is described by an open standard, OpenGIS, and there is native support for these standards in databases Drupal supports.

Advantage Labs has taken the lead in making this type of storage available to Drupal sites. This means that users would be able to search by existing attributes ( name, category, etc. ) but also by state or municipality. Alternatively, you can store information about a service provider’s coverage area and allow visitors to locate companies who cover their location. We have been actively developing this functionality and making it freely available ( see http://drupal.org/project/geo for further details).

One example of how we have applied the Geo module is an online voter guide, allowing visitors to type in their address to locate only the candidates that are within their most local legislative districts. We were able to match the users’ location information against any type of related data, such as the address of their polling place. Because we built this solution with open standards, we were able to download and import the boundaries of these districts from public sources such as the Census and the MN Secretary of State.