GeoForm Platform offers geospatial data management, transformations, analysis, and visualization and has been now extended to include Accessibility Analysis! This new feature makes it possible to evaluate how easily people can reach facilities and services in any country, region, or community.
The capability is built on a general-purpose geospatial analysis module and powered by global open datasets—geoBoundaries (administrative boundaries), WorldPop (population), and OpenStreetMap (points of interest)—ensuring worldwide coverage and consistent results.
How it works
The analysis begins by selecting an area of interest and the types of facilities (points of interest) you want to study—for example, clinics, grocery stores, or schools. Both the area of interest and the facilities can be chosen from the global datasets provided within the Platform or defined and uploaded by the user. These inputs are then complemented with a global population dataset.
Once the inputs are ready, the analysis can be launched by clicking Start Analysis in the Executions tab. The Platform automatically loads the required datasets and runs the process in the background.
Analysis Insights
Analysis results include Service Area map, Access to Service map and KPIs, Expected Facilities Demand table, and Underserved Areas map and table.
1) Service Area (Map)
The Service Area view presents the area of interest selected for the analysis, together with points of interest and population in the region. It provides great situational awareness as the analysis’s first deliverable and a basis for further analysis steps.
2) Access To Service (Map + KPIs)
The Access To Service view shows how well facilities serve people across the selected region. The Platform generates an accessibility map along with a set of accessibility KPIs that summarize the situation at a glance.
This view is particularly useful for local governments, NGOs, and planners seeking to improve equitable access across neighborhoods.
The analysis applies the well-known Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) method, which balances facility capacity and population while accounting for travel distance.
3) Expected Facilities Demand (Table)
The Expected Facilities Demand view estimates how much demand each facility is likely to attract, based on population distribution and distance. Results are presented in a table listing expected demand for each facility included in the analysis.
This view is designed for businesses and operators who need location-aware estimates of facility usage.
The analysis uses a Huff-weighted demand model, which distributes each population cell across nearby facilities according to distance and capacity—so closer or higher-capacity sites capture a larger share of demand.
4) Underserved Areas (Map and Table)
The Underserved Areas view presents zones with below-average access, derived from population-weighted shortfall and ranked by size of population. This part of the analysis is ideal for planning the locations of new facilities in the region or for marketing campaigns to better serve communities in the areas with lower access to services.
Variant Analysis (Base vs Adjusted)
The Variant Analysis mode makes it possible to test new or proposed facility locations and compare them against a baseline scenario:
- Base: the current network of facilities.
- Adjusted: the baseline network plus any new locations added.
Results are presented side by side in Service Area Map, Access to Service Map and KPIs, Expected Facilities Demand Table and Underserved Areas Map and Table—to highlight how additional sites may improve regional access and balance demand.
Facility Analysis (Reference vs Comparison Facilities)
The Facility Analysis mode allows evaluating the location of a selected facility in comparison with the other facilities of the same type in the selected region.
The analysis offers the same views as in the regular mode, with adjustments highlighting the location characteristics of the reference facility:
- A different color for the reference facility in the Service Area, Access To Service, and Underserved Areas maps, providing improved situational awareness.
- Distance from the reference facility to the Underserved Areas.
- Distance from the reference facility to comparison facilities in the Expected Facilities Demand table.
Additionally, this mode offers a Service Reach By Time analysis, presenting the areas reachable within specific times from the reference facility (typically 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-minute bands), the population living in each band, and competitors located in those areas.
Who benefits — and why it matters
Administration units (cities, counties, regional agencies)
- Prioritize investments by spotting underserved areas and forecasting uplift for clinics, schools, parks, or transit.
- Track equity with Average and Equity-Adjusted Accessibility KPIs.
NGOs (health, education, food security, disaster response)
- Target need: locate low-access, high-population areas; test pop-up sites.
- Show impact: Base vs. Adjusted comparisons reveal newly served people.
Small & midsize businesses (retail, pharmacies, clinics, gyms, hospitality)
- Pick sites: estimate Huff-weighted demand; see where a location attracts most customers.
- Check competition: measure how nearby sites share demand.
Bottom line: clarity and confidence — global data out of the box, defensible results.
Outlook
The current release calculates accessibility using straight-line (Cartesian) distance. An upcoming update will add travel-time calculations powered by OSM + Valhalla routing, delivering global coverage with results available within minutes.
Check the Contacts page to get in touch—whether you’re interested in this feature, need a custom analysis for your region, community, or business, or would like to discuss a broader data analysis project. Questions and comments are always welcome.