
Discover how isochrones help measure reachable populations in minutes, and why they matter for planning and territory design.

Overview
An isochrone is a boundary that shows how far you can travel from a point within a given time. Instead of measuring distance in kilometers, it measures access in minutes. In Population Explorer, isochrones let you quickly see how many people live within 5, 10, or even 60 minutes of a chosen location.
Use Cases
Retail site selection: understand the population within a 15-minute drive of a new store.
Healthcare planning: measure who can reach a clinic within walking distance.
Franchise territories: build service areas that match real-world drive times, not just straight-line distances.
Emergency services: map populations reachable within a critical response window.
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