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Welcome to SocialMapper

SocialMapper helps you understand how people connect with important places in their community by analyzing travel times and demographics.

What is SocialMapper?

SocialMapper is a Python tool that answers questions like: - Who can reach the local library within a 15-minute walk? - What areas are within 20 minutes of the nearest hospital? - How many seniors live within driving distance of grocery stores?

It combines travel time analysis with demographic data to help you understand community accessibility.

Key Features

🗺️ Find Places

Discover libraries, schools, hospitals, parks, and other community resources from OpenStreetMap. Or use the geocoding feature with a street address.

⏱️ Calculate Travel Times

Generate isochrones (travel time areas) for walking, driving, or biking. [Walking and Biking functionality still under development]

📊 Analyze Demographics

Understand who lives within reach of your point of interest using Census data like population, income, and age.

📍 Use Your Own Locations

Analyze accessibility from your organization's facilities or any custom addresses.

Quick Example

from socialmapper import create_isochrone, get_census_data

# Create a 15-minute driving isochrone from downtown Raleigh
isochrone = create_isochrone(
    location=(35.7796, -78.6382),
    travel_time=15,
    travel_mode="drive"
)

# Get demographic data for the area
census_data = get_census_data(
    location=isochrone,
    variables=["population", "median_income"]
)

# Calculate total population
total_pop = sum(d.get('population', 0) for d in census_data.values())
print(f"Population within 15 minutes: {total_pop:,}")

Get Started

Common Use Cases

Urban Planning

  • Analyze access to public facilities
  • Identify underserved areas
  • Plan new service locations

Public Health

  • Map healthcare accessibility
  • Study food desert patterns
  • Evaluate emergency service coverage

Education

  • Assess school accessibility
  • Plan bus routes
  • Identify transportation barriers

Community Development

  • Evaluate access to parks and recreation
  • Study retail accessibility
  • Support grant applications with data

Why SocialMapper?

  • Free and Open Source - No licensing fees or restrictions
  • Easy to Use - Simple Python API and command line interface
  • Reliable Data - Uses OpenStreetMap and US Census Bureau
  • Fast - Optimized caching and efficient algorithms
  • Flexible - Analyze any location type at any scale

Ready to explore your community? Get started now →