By definition, any database that is optimized to store and query the data that represents objects defined in a geometric space is called a spatial database. Although Neo4j is primarily a graph database, due to the importance of geospatial data in the modern world, the spatial extension has been introduced in to Neo4j as an unmanaged extension. It gives you most of the facilities that are provided by common geospatial databases along with the power of connectivity through edges, which Neo4j, as a graph database, provides.

In this chapter, we will take a look at some of the widely-used use cases of Neo4j as a spatial database, and you will learn how typical geospatial operations can be performed on it.