Nairobi GIS Hub

Working with layers

• Open the left sidebar (layers icon) to browse layers grouped by category.
• Toggle a layer on/off with its checkbox.
• Use the opacity slider next to a layer to fade it.
• Click Switch basemap at the top‑right to swap between OSM, dark and satellite.
• Upload your own layer: Gold and Platinum members (and admins) can add a GeoJSON (EPSG:4326 / WGS 84) or CSV (with lat/lng columns) layer via the Upload button at the top of the left sidebar.
• Versioning: re‑uploading a custom layer keeps the previous file as a version.
• Share a layer: admins can mint a read‑only link that expires after N days.

Searching

• Type a parcel/LR number, block name, sub‑county, or any feature attribute in the top search box.
• Intelligent matching: the search normalises common prefixes (e.g. “LR”, “Plot”, “No.”) and uses relevance scoring — exact matches appear first, followed by partial and token‑based matches.
• Enter coordinates as lat, lng (e.g. -1.286, 36.817) to fly to a point.
• Pick a result to highlight the feature, fly to it and open the attribute popup.
• Daily search limit (Public tier): free users get 10 searches per day. When you’re near the limit, you’ll see a friendly warning. Upgrade to Silver or higher for unlimited searching.
• Search quota status: the system shows remaining searches in a toast message when you have 3 or fewer left.
• Find parcel at point: right‑click the map and choose the option to identify the parcel under the cursor.

The toolbar (bottom of the map)

The power‑user toolkit provides advanced geospatial capabilities. All tools are available in the floating bar; some are restricted by plan.

• Measure: distances and areas with a live readout. Pick Distance or Area, click to add points, then double‑click (or Finish) to complete.
• Legend & symbology: an auto‑generated legend for every active layer. Re‑style any polygon/line layer by an attribute — categorized (distinct values) or graduated / choropleth (numeric class breaks with colour ramps).
• Spatial tools: run spatial queries (find features inside polygons) and build client‑side SQL‑like queries with attribute and spatial filters (viewport, drawn polygon). Results can be exported as GeoJSON or CSV.
• Bookmarks: save your current view (location, zoom, active layers, theme) and restore it later.
• Time slider: detect temporal attributes in layers (e.g. “year”, “date”). Filter features by year, animate through time, and export the time distribution as CSV.
• Heatmap / cluster: visualise point density as a heatmap or group points into clusters.
• Export data: download the current layer (or drawn shapes) as GeoJSON or CSV. Filter by attribute or viewport.
  (Platinum / Admin only)
• Geocode address: search for an address via Mapbox Geocoding and fly to the result.
• Reverse‑geocode click: click anywhere on the map to get the nearest address.
• Terrain profile: draw a line (by clicking points) and generate an elevation profile using Mapbox terrain data (with a fallback to Open‑Elevation). Displays min, max, average, and total ascent.
• Nearest facility: pick a location on the map and find the closest facilities (hospitals, schools, police stations, etc.) from a point layer.
• Data comparison: compare two layers side‑by‑side using a common numeric attribute. Shows summary statistics and the difference.
• Map embed generator: create an iframe code to embed the current map view on any website.
• Plot density calculator: (Platinum / Admin only) estimate floor area, units, population and density for a plot. Auto‑ fills zone controls from DC Policy 2026.
• Parcel report (in Export tool): generate a comprehensive PDF report for any parcel, including zoning data from DC Policy 2026 and information from all active layers at that location.

Accounts & plans

• Sign up for a free account to save bookmarks and preferences, and to get a daily search allowance.
• Plan tiers: Public (free), Silver, Gold, Platinum, Admin. Each tier unlocks different capabilities:
  • Public: basic layers, 10 parcel searches/day, 1 print/day, limited parcel search results (5).
  • Silver: all built‑in layers, attribute tables, full parcel search, 5 prints/day, 100 AI queries/month, basic downloads.
  • Gold: all layers + 3D terrain, unlimited prints, upload your own layers, 1000 AI queries/month, priority support.
  • Platinum: everything in Gold plus unlimited AI, full data exports, API access, dedicated onboarding.
  • Admin: full access including user management, layer versioning, and share tokens.
• Pay via M‑Pesa; if anything goes wrong tap the WhatsApp button for billing help.
• Report an issue: use the Report Issue button — admin reply by email and you can continue the thread.
• Guest sign‑up nudge: if you’re not signed in, a gentle reminder appears after 25 seconds to encourage you to create a free account.

Keyboard shortcuts

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