# Boundary Functions Use the following functions to retrieve [Boundary](/cartodb-platform/dataobservatory/overview/#boundary-data) data. Data ranges from small areas (e.g. US Census Block Groups) to large areas (e.g. Countries). You can access boundaries by point location lookup, bounding box lookup, direct ID access and several other methods described below. ## OBS_GetBoundariesByGeometry(polygon geometry, geometry_id text) The ```OBS_GetBoundariesByGeometry(geometry, geometry_id)``` method returns a set of boundary geometries that intersect a supplied geometry. This can be used to find all boundaries that are within or overlap a bounding box. You have the ability to choose whether to retrieve all boundaries that intersect your supplied bounding box or only those that fall entirely inside of your bounding box. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- polygon | a bounding box or other WGS84 geometry geometry_id | a string identifier for a boundary geometry timespan (optional) | year(s) to request from ('NULL' (default) gives most recent) overlap_type (optional) | one of '[intersects](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Intersects.html)' (default), '[contains](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Contains.html)', or '[within](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Within.html)'. #### Returns A table with the following columns: Column Name | Description --- | --- the_geom | a boundary geometry (e.g., US Census tract boundaries) geom_refs | a string identifier for the geometry (e.g., geoids of US Census tracts) If geometries are not found for the requested `polygon`, `geometry_id`, `timespan`, or `overlap_type`, then null values are returned. #### Example Get all Census Tracts in Lower Manhattan plus nearby areas within the supplied bounding box. ```sql SELECT * FROM OBS_GetBoundariesByGeometry( ST_MakeEnvelope(-74.0251922607,40.6945658517, -73.9651107788,40.7377626342, 4326), 'us.census.tiger.census_tract') ``` #### API Example Retrieve all Census tracts contained in a bounding box around Denver, CO as a JSON response: ```text http://observatory.cartodb.com/api/v2/sql?q=SELECT * FROM OBS_GetBoundariesByGeometry(ST_MakeEnvelope(-105.4287704158,39.4600507935,-104.5089737248,40.0901569675,4326),'us.census.tiger.census_tract', NULL, 'contains') ``` #### Errors * If a geometry other than a point is passed as the first argument, an error is thrown: `Invalid geometry type (ST_Polygon), expecting 'ST_Point'` * If an `overlap_type` other than the valid ones listed above is entered, then an error is thrown ## OBS_GetPointsByGeometry(polygon geometry, geometry_id text) The ```OBS_GetPointsByGeometry(polygon, geometry_id)``` method returns point geometries and their geographical identifiers that intersect (or are contained by) a bounding box polygon and lie on the surface of a boundary corresponding to the boundary with same geographical identifiers (e.g., a point that is on a census tract with the same geoid). This is a useful alternative to ```OBS_GetBoundariesByGeometry``` listed above because it returns much less data for each location. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- polygon | a bounding box or other geometry geometry_id | a string identifier for a boundary geometry timespan (optional) | year(s) to request from (`NULL` (default) gives most recent) overlap_type (optional) | one of '[intersects](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Intersects.html)' (default), '[contains](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Contains.html)', or '[within](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Within.html)'. #### Returns A table with the following columns: Column Name | Description --- | --- the_geom | a point geometry on a boundary (e.g., a point that lies on a US Census tract) geom_refs| a string identifier for the geometry (e.g., the geoid of a US Census tract) If geometries are not found for the requested geometry, `geometry_id`, `timespan`, or `overlap_type`, then null values are returned. #### Example Get all Census Tracts in Lower Manhattan plus nearby areas within the supplied bounding box. ```sql SELECT * FROM OBS_GetPointsByGeometry( ST_MakeEnvelope(-74.0251922607,40.6945658517, -73.9651107788,40.7377626342, 4326), 'us.census.tiger.census_tract') ``` #### API Example Retrieve all Census tracts intersecting a bounding box around Denver, CO as a JSON response: ```text http://observatory.cartodb.com/api/v2/sql?q=SELECT * FROM OBS_GetPointsByGeometry(ST_MakeEnvelope(-105.4287704158,39.4600507935,-104.5089737248,40.0901569675,4326), 'us.census.tiger.census_tract', NULL ,'contains') ``` #### Errors * If a geometry other than a point is passed as the first argument, an error is thrown: `Invalid geometry type (ST_Point), expecting 'ST_MultiPolygon' or 'ST_Polygon'` ## OBS_GetBoundary(point_geometry, boundary_id) The ```OBS_GetBoundary(point_geometry, boundary_id)``` method returns a boundary geometry defined as overlapping the point geometry and from the desired boundary set (e.g. Census Tracts). See the [Boundary ID glossary table below](below). This is a useful method for performing aggregations of points. #### Arguments Name | Description --- | --- point_geometry | a WGS84 polygon geometry (the_geom) boundary_id | a boundary identifier from the [Boundary ID glossary table below](below) timespan (optional) | year(s) to request from (`NULL` (default) gives most recent) #### Returns A boundary geometry. If no value is found at the requested `boundary_id` or `timespan`, a null value is returned. Value | Description --- | --- geom | WKB geometry #### Example Overwrite a point geometry with a boundary geometry that contains it in your table ```SQL UPDATE tablename SET the_geom = OBS_GetBoundary(the_geom, 'us.census.tiger.block_group') ``` #### Errors * If a geometry other than a point is passed, an error is thrown: `Invalid geometry type (ST_Line), expecting 'ST_Point'` ## OBS_GetBoundaryId(point_geometry, boundary_id) The ```OBS_GetBoundaryId(point_geometry, boundary_id)``` returns a unique geometry_id for the boundary geometry that contains a given point geometry. See the [Boundary ID glossary table below](below). The method can be combined with ```OBS_GetBoundaryById(geometry_id)``` to create a point aggregation workflow. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- point_geometry | a WGS84 point geometry (the_geom) boundary_id | a boundary identifier from the [Boundary ID glossary table below](below) timespan (optional) | year(s) to request from (`NULL` (default) gives most recent) #### Returns A TEXT boundary geometry id. If no value is found at the requested `boundary_id` or `timespan`, a null value is returned. Value | Description --- | --- geometry_id | a string identifier of a geometry in the Boundaries #### Example Write the geometry_id that contains the point geometry for every row as a new column in your table ```SQL UPDATE tablename SET boundary_id = OBS_GetBoundaryId(the_geom, 'us.census.tiger.block_group') ``` #### Errors * If a geometry other than a point is passed, an error is thrown: `Invalid geometry type (ST_Line), expecting 'ST_Point'` ## OBS_GetBoundaryById(geometry_id, boundary_id) The ```OBS_GetBoundaryById(geometry_id, boundary_id)``` returns the boundary geometry for a unique geometry_id. A geometry_id can be found using the ```OBS_GetBoundaryId(point_geometry, boundary_id)``` method described above. #### Arguments Name | Description --- | --- geometry_id | a string identifier for a Boundary geometry boundary_id | a boundary identifier from the [Boundary ID glossary table below](below) timespan (optional) | year(s) to request from (`NULL` (default) gives most recent) #### Returns A boundary geometry. If a geometry is not found for the requested `geometry_id`, `boundary_id`, or `timespan`, then a null value is returned. Key | Description --- | --- geom | a WGS84 polygon geometry #### Example Use a table of geometry_id to select the unique boundaries. Useful with the ```Create Dataset from Query``` option in CartoDB. ```SQL SELECT OBS_GetBoundaryById(geometry_id, 'us.census.tiger.county') As the_geom, geometry_id, count(*) FROM tablename GROUP BY geometry_id ``` ## OBS_GetBoundariesByPointAndRadius(point geometry, radius numeric, boundary_id text) The ```OBS_GetBoundariesByPointAndRadius(point, radius, boundary_id)``` method returns boundary geometries and their geographical identifiers that intersect (or are contained by) a circle centered on a point with a radius. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- point | a WGS84 point geometry radius | a radius (in meters) from the center point geometry_id | a string identifier for a boundary geometry timespan (optional) | year(s) to request from (`NULL` (default) gives most recent) overlap_type (optional) | one of '[intersects](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Intersects.html)' (default), '[contains](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Contains.html)', or '[within](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Within.html)'. #### Returns A table with the following columns: Column Name | Description --- | --- the_geom | a boundary geometry (e.g., a US Census tract) geom_refs| a string identifier for the geometry (e.g., the geoid of a US Census tract) If geometries are not found for the requested point and radius, `geometry_id`, `timespan`, or `overlap_type`, then null values are returned. #### Example Get Census tracts which intersect within 10 miles of Downtown, Colorado. In the Editor, you can simple use "Table from Query" to turn the result into a new dataset. ```sql SELECT * FROM OBS_GetBoundariesByPointAndRadius( CDB_LatLng(39.7392, -104.9903), -- Denver, Colorado 10000 * 1.609, -- 10 miles (10km * conversion to miles) 'us.census.tiger.census_tract') ``` #### Errors * If a geometry other than a point is passed, an error is thrown. E.g., `Invalid geometry type (ST_Line), expecting 'ST_Point'` ## OBS_GetPointsByPointAndRadius(point geometry, radius numeric, boundary_id text) The ```OBS_GetPointsByPointAndRadius(point, radius, boundary_id)``` method returns point geometries on boundaries (e.g., a point that lies on a Census tract) and their geographical identifiers that intersect (or are contained by) a circle centered on a point with a radius. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- point | a WGS84 point geometry radius | radius (in meters) geometry_id | a string identifier for a boundary geometry timespan (optional) | year(s) to request from (`NULL` (default) gives most recent) overlap_type (optional) | one of '[intersects](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Intersects.html)' (default), '[contains](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Contains.html)', or '[within](http://postgis.net/docs/manual-2.2/ST_Within.html)'. #### Returns A table with the following columns: Column Name | Description --- | --- the_geom | a point geometry (e.g., a point on a US Census tract) geom_refs | a string identifier for the geometry (e.g., the geoid of a US Census tract) If geometries are not found for the requested point and radius, `geometry_id`, `timespan`, or `overlap_type`, then null values are returned. #### Example Get Census tracts which intersect within 10 miles of Downtown, Colorado. In the Editor, you can simple use "Table from Query" to turn the result into a new dataset. ```sql SELECT * FROM OBS_GetPointsByPointAndRadius( CDB_LatLng(39.7392, -104.9903), -- Denver, Colorado 10000 * 1.609, -- 10 miles (10km * conversion to miles) 'us.census.tiger.census_tract') ``` #### Errors * If a geometry other than a point is passed, an error is thrown. E.g., `Invalid geometry type (ST_Line), expecting 'ST_Point'`