Places is the Waze Point of Interest (POI) system.
Point
The Point type of Place is rendered with the following icons:
Standard Point marker pin is purple-ish
The currently selected Point marker will turn blue
Any Point markers which have been edited and not yet saved by you will turn an orange-pink color, just like Area Places and segments.
- The Point marker for a Place should be placed on or nearest to the segment to which the driver should be navigated.
Area
The Area type of Place is rendered as a polygon. Just like a segment, you can adjust the shape by using the geometry handles. All Area Places in the editor show in pink when not selected and blue-green when selected:
- The Area type has a target which is the navigation endpoint.
- The target can be moved anywhere within the shape and also a short distance outside the actual Area shape
- The target should be placed on or nearest to the segment to which the driver should be navigated.
The Point Area is to be placed on or nearest to the segment to which the driver should be navigated. Here is an example of a gas station Point located directly on a parking lot segment.
Here is an example of an Area (a large park in this case) which has an entry road on the east side. The second image is zoomed in on the target to show how this type of Area should have it's navigation target set.
Place address detail
Every Place, whether Point or Area, should have as much detail completed as possible. This includes a name, proper categorization, and full street address, city and state. If any Place doesn't have a City or Street, you will need to check the None checkbox.
Here is an example of a Gas Station Area with its details completed:
Additional fields to allow entry of more detail will be coming in future editor releases. (One field available in previous editor releases but not available at this time, is phone number.)
When to use Area or Point
Here is the global guidance on selecting Area or Point for Places in the Waze Map Editor.
| Parent | Category | Type | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car Services | Car Wash | Point | |
| Car Services | Charging Station | Point | |
| Car Services | Garage / Automotive Shop | Point | |
| Car Services | Gas Station | Voting is tied between Point and Area. Possibly size-dependent, but also depends on the future of parking lot roads and jam suppression. | |
| Car Services | Parking Lot | Both | Large parking lots can be Area, but small, urban parking lots are better mapped as Point. |
| Transportation | Airport | Area | Special-handling |
| Transportation | Bridge | Area | |
| Transportation | Bus Station | Point | |
| Transportation | Ferry Pier | Point | |
| Transportation | Junction / Interchange | Area | |
| Transportation | Seaport / Marina / Harbor | Area | Size-dependent. |
| Transportation | Subway Station | Point | |
| Transportation | Taxi Station | Point | |
| Transportation | Train Station | Point | |
| Transportation | Tunnel | Area | |
| Professional and public | Cemetery | Area | |
| Professional and public | City Hall | Point | |
| Professional and public | College / University | Area | |
| Professional and public | Conventions / Event Center | Area | Size-dependent |
| Professional and public | Courthouse | Point | |
| Professional and public | Embassy / Consulate | Area | |
| Professional and public | Factory / Industrial | Both | Size-dependent |
| Professional and public | Fire Department | Point | |
| Professional and public | Government | Point | |
| Professional and public | Hospital / Medical Center | Area | |
| Professional and public | Information Point | Point | |
| Professional and public | Kindergarten | Point | |
| Professional and public | Library | Point | |
| Professional and public | Military | Area | |
| Professional and public | Offices | Both | Size-dependent |
| Professional and public | Organization or Association | Point | |
| Professional and public | Police Station | Point | |
| Professional and public | Prison / Correctional Facility | Area | |
| Professional and public | Post Office | Point | |
| Professional and public | Religious Center | Point | |
| Professional and public | School | Area | |
| Shopping and services | Arts & Crafts | Point | |
| Shopping and services | ATM | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Bank / Financial | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Bookstore | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Car Dealership | Point | Size-dependent |
| Shopping and services | Car Rental | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Convenience Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Currency Exchange | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Department Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Electronics | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Fashion and Clothing | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Flowers | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Furniture / Home Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Gifts | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Hardware Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Jewelry | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Laundry / Dry Cleaning | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Market | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Music Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Personal Care | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Pet Store / Veterinarian | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Pharmacy | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Photography | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Shopping Center | Area | |
| Shopping and services | Sporting Goods | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Supermarket / Grocery | Point | Standalone could be an Area, but a Point if it is part of larger shopping mall/center. |
| Shopping and services | Swimming Pool | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Toy Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Travel Agency | Point | |
| Food and drink | Bakery | Point | |
| Food and drink | Bar | Point | |
| Food and drink | Cafe | Point | |
| Food and drink | Dessert | Point | |
| Food and drink | Fast Food | Point | |
| Food and drink | Food Court | Point | |
| Food and drink | Ice Cream | Point | |
| Food and drink | Restaurant | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Art Gallery | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Casino | Area | Large hotel-casinos perhaps could be Area Places. |
| Culture & entertainment | Club | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Game Club | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Movie Theater | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Museum | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Music Venue | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Performing Arts Venue | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Racing Track | Area | |
| Culture & entertainment | Stadium / Arena | Area | |
| Culture & entertainment | Theme Park | Area | |
| Culture & entertainment | Theater | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Tourist Attraction / Historic Site | Point | Size-dependent |
| Culture & entertainment | Zoo / Aquarium | Area | Size-dependent |
| Other | Construction Site | Area | Not necessary to be mapped. |
| Other | Residence / Home | NONE | Not to be mapped |
| Lodging | Bed & Breakfast | Point | |
| Lodging | Camping / Trailer Park | Area | Size-dependent |
| Lodging | Cottage / Cabin | Point | |
| Lodging | Hostel | Point | |
| Lodging | Hotel | Point | |
| Outdoors | Beach | Area | |
| Outdoors | Golf Course | Area | |
| Outdoors | Park | Area | |
| Outdoors | Playground | Point | |
| Outdoors | Plaza | Point | |
| Outdoors | Promenade | Point | Unsure about mapping these at all |
| Outdoors | Scenic Lookout / Viewpoint | Point | |
| Outdoors | Ski Area | Area | |
| Outdoors | Sports Court | Point | |
| Natural features | Farm | NONE | |
| Natural features | Forest / Grove | Area | Only map official state/national forests, not every stand of trees. |
| Natural features | Island | Area | |
| Natural features | River / Stream | Area | |
| Natural features | Sea / Lake / Pond | Area |
Area+Point Combinations
There are some situations where it will be appropriate to mix both Area and Point Places. For example, shopping centers and shopping malls where the mall itself could be considered a navigation destination, but there are also individual stores which are also valid for being marked.
A simple shopping center, when mapped in this manner, would look like this:
