The pipeline
- 1
Select a parcel
Click anywhere on the map. LandWise queries the county's parcel GIS layer to retrieve the parcel boundary, ID, owner of record, acreage, and assessed value. Tennessee uses the state MAARS service for many small counties; larger counties publish their own ArcGIS endpoints.
- 2
Run Phase 1: seven parallel spatial analyses
Seven independent spatial services run in parallel against the parcel geometry: flood (FEMA NFHL intersection), wetlands (USFWS NWI coverage), slope (USGS 3DEP elevation analysis), road (proximity, frontage, and power-line detection), soil (SSURGO drainage and hydric rating), buildings (county tax records and Microsoft Building Footprints), and zoning (per-county GIS endpoints, with zoning notes for counties without GIS).
- 3
Run Phase 2: utilities derived from Phase 1
Utility analyses run after Phase 1 because they depend on its results. Electricity reads power-line proximity from the road service. Water combines TDEC well-log density, USGS aquifer data, and SSURGO drainage. Sewer infers septic feasibility from soil drainage and slope. Internet queries the FCC National Broadband Map for serviceable providers and technologies at the parcel.
- 4
Synthesize the AI report
A large language model receives the structured outputs from all twelve analyses, the parcel record, and a county-specific context block, and writes a plain-English LandWise report — overall LandScore, section-by-section findings, risks, and recommendations. The report is cached and downloadable as PDF.
Data sources
Every layer we query is published by a government or research agency. LandWise does not invent or estimate flood zones, soils, or wetlands — we surface the authoritative data with provenance.
- FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL)
- Authoritative flood-zone designations (Zone A/AE/VE/X), Special Flood Hazard Areas, and Base Flood Elevations.
- USFWS National Wetlands Inventory (NWI)
- Mapped wetland polygons used to flag jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional wetlands.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP)
- High-resolution elevation data used to compute slope distribution and terrain profile.
- USDA NRCS SSURGO
- Parcel-scale soil survey data: drainage class, hydric rating, depth to water table, depth to bedrock.
- Microsoft Building Footprints
- Satellite-derived building footprints used to detect existing structures beyond county tax records.
- FCC National Broadband Map
- Authoritative serviceable-location data for fixed broadband providers and technologies.
- TDEC Well Logs
- Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation well-log records used as a proxy for groundwater availability.
- USGS Principal Aquifers
- Regional aquifer extent used to characterize groundwater context.
- U.S. Census TIGER/Line
- County boundary geometry used to scope per-county configuration.
- County parcel & zoning GIS
- Per-county ArcGIS endpoints (or the Tennessee state MAARS service) for parcel boundaries, ownership, assessment, and zoning designations.