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TESTING

Geo API

The Geo API provides fast, map-optimized access to Open Data Hub geospatial datasets — points of interest, hiking trails, cycleways, and more — served as vector tiles for efficient rendering at any zoom level.

It is designed specifically to solve performance and quota issues that come from loading large geometry-heavy datasets through the Content (REST) API. Use the Geo API to display data on a map; use the Content API to fetch full detail records.

1. Base URL and entry points​

The base URL for the Geo API is:

https://geo.api.opendatahub.com/

For interactive exploration, use the Swagger UI:

https://geo.api.opendatahub.com/swagger/index.html

Worked examples showing how to display Geo API data on a map:

https://geo.api.opendatahub.com/examples/

Source code:

https://github.com/noi-techpark/opendatahub-geo-api

2. When to use the Geo API vs. the Content API​

Use caseRecommended API
Displaying points or geometries on a mapGeo API
Displaying the full detail of a single itemContent (REST) API
Weather forecast dataContent (REST) API only
People Counter / time series dataContent (REST) API only (Timeseries support on the Geo API is planned — see Known limitations)

3. Operation modes​

The Geo API supports three operationmode values, which control how geometries are returned:

  • points — returns point geometries only
  • tracks — returns line/track geometries only
  • pointsandtracks — returns both

By default, tracks become visible starting at zoom level 12. This can be overridden with the displaytracksonzoomlevel parameter.

4. Datasets​

For datasets such as HikingTrails, Cycleways, and similar geometry-based POIs, use the new SpatialData endpoint. It replaces the older ODHActivityPoi / GeoShape endpoints, which are now considered obsolete for this purpose.

The Announcement endpoint is unaffected by this change and continues to work as before.

4.2. Large datasets​

Two datasets available through SpatialData are very large (roughly 600,000 records each):

  • euregio.roadnetwork
  • euregio.routes

These can still be retrieved, but response times may be slow. Caching for these sources is planned but not yet implemented (work in progress).

5. Known limitations​

  • Weather forecasts are served directly by the province and cannot currently be processed into vector tiles, so they remain available only through the Content (REST) API.
  • People Counter data is only available via the Timeseries REST API. Timeseries support on the Geo API is planned for a future release.
  • Caching for the large euregio.roadnetwork and euregio.routes sources has not yet been implemented, so expect slower responses for these two sources specifically.

6. Getting started​

  1. Browse available layers and try requests directly in Swagger.
  2. Review the worked examples for map integration patterns (e.g. MapLibre/Leaflet vector tile layers).
  3. Choose an operationmode (points, tracks, or pointsandtracks) based on what you need to display.
  4. For anything requiring full record detail rather than map display, switch to the corresponding Content API endpoint (e.g. ODHActivityPoi/{id}, Announcement/{id}).