diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 91d05c0..265b7ea 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ private/
 *.py[cod]
 *$py.class
 
+cache
 issues.txt
 
 # C extensions
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dedebb2..fa37b94 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -45,13 +45,13 @@ Will print out a help message. You then will be able run the CLI (download [1.js
 
 
 ```bash
-ob tools get_buildings 1.json my-buildings.geojson --country_iso RW
+ob tools get_buildings 1.json --dst my-buildings.geojson --country_iso RW
 ```
 
 You can also stream the json in directly in one line:
 
 ```
-curl https://data.source.coop/cholmes/aois/1.json | ob get_buildings - my-buildings.geojson --country_iso RW
+curl https://data.source.coop/cholmes/aois/1.json | ob get_buildings - --dst my-buildings.geojson --country_iso RW
 ```
 
 
@@ -96,13 +96,17 @@ Usage: ob get_buildings [OPTIONS] [GEOJSON_INPUT] [DST]
   this tool we hope to eliminate the need to hint with the country_iso.
 
 Options:
+  --dst TEXT                  The path to write the output to. Can be a
+                              directory or file.
+  --location TEXT             Use city or region name instead of providing an
+                              AOI as file.
   --source [google|overture]  Dataset to query, defaults to Overture
   --country_iso TEXT          A 2 character country ISO code to filter the
                               data by.
   -s, --silent                Suppress all print outputs.
   --overwrite                 Overwrite the destination file if it already
                               exists.
-  --verbose                   Print detailed logs with timestamps.
+  -v, --verbose               Print detailed logs with timestamps.
   --help                      Show this message and exit.
 ```
 
diff --git a/open_buildings/cli.py b/open_buildings/cli.py
index d5c2122..8bb51b0 100644
--- a/open_buildings/cli.py
+++ b/open_buildings/cli.py
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 import click
 import json
 import pandas as pd
+import osmnx
+from shapely.geometry import shape, box, mapping
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 from open_buildings.google.process import process_benchmark, process_geometries
 from open_buildings.download_buildings import download as download_buildings
@@ -34,15 +36,22 @@ def overture():
 def handle_comma_separated(ctx, param, value):
     return value.split(',')
 
+def geocode(data: str):
+    location = osmnx.geocode_to_gdf(data)
+    geom = location.geometry[0]
+    geojson = json.loads(json.dumps({"type": "Feature", "geometry": mapping(geom)})) # turn geom tuple into list by (de-)serialising
+    return geojson
+
 @main.command(name="get_buildings")
 @click.argument('geojson_input', type=click.File('r'), required=False)
-@click.argument('dst', type=str, default="buildings.json")
+@click.option('--dst', type=str, default="buildings.json", help='The path to write the output to. Can be a directory or file.')
+@click.option('--location', type=str, default=None, help='Use city or region name instead of providing an AOI as file.')
 @click.option('--source', default="overture", type=click.Choice(['google', 'overture']), help='Dataset to query, defaults to Overture')
 @click.option('--country_iso', type=str, default=None, help='A 2 character country ISO code to filter the data by.')
 @click.option('-s', '--silent', is_flag=True, default=False, help='Suppress all print outputs.')
 @click.option('--overwrite', default=False, is_flag=True, help='Overwrite the destination file if it already exists.')
-@click.option('--verbose', default=False, is_flag=True, help='Print detailed logs with timestamps.')
-def get_buildings(geojson_input, dst, source, country_iso, silent, overwrite, verbose):
+@click.option('-v', '--verbose', default=False, is_flag=True, help='Print detailed logs with timestamps.')
+def get_buildings(geojson_input, dst, location, source, country_iso, silent, overwrite, verbose):
     """Tool to extract buildings in common geospatial formats from large archives of GeoParquet data online. GeoJSON
     input can be provided as a file or piped in from stdin. If no GeoJSON input is provided, the tool will read from stdin.
 
@@ -71,6 +80,8 @@ def get_buildings(geojson_input, dst, source, country_iso, silent, overwrite, ve
     
     if geojson_input:
         geojson_data = json.load(geojson_input)
+    elif location:
+        geojson_data = geocode(location)
     else:
         geojson_data = json.load(click.get_text_stream('stdin'))
     
diff --git a/open_buildings/download_buildings.py b/open_buildings/download_buildings.py
index 610161d..e6ddc56 100644
--- a/open_buildings/download_buildings.py
+++ b/open_buildings/download_buildings.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import json
 import click
 from math import tan, cos, log, pi
-from shapely.geometry import shape
+from shapely.geometry import shape, box, mapping
 from typing import Dict, Any, Union
 import mercantile 
 import duckdb
@@ -13,24 +13,15 @@
 import pandas as pd
 import geopandas as gpd
 import subprocess
-from shapely import wkb
+import shapely
+import geojson
 import shutil
-
+import osmnx
 from open_buildings.settings import Source, Format, settings
 
 def geojson_to_quadkey(data: dict) -> str:
-    if 'bbox' in data:
-        min_lon, min_lat, max_lon, max_lat = data['bbox']
-    else:
-        coords = data['geometry']['coordinates'][0]
-        min_lon = min_lat = float('inf')
-        max_lon = max_lat = float('-inf')
-        
-        for lon, lat in coords:
-            min_lon = min(min_lon, lon)
-            min_lat = min(min_lat, lat)
-            max_lon = max(max_lon, lon)
-            max_lat = max(max_lat, lat)
+    geom = shape(data["geometry"])
+    min_lon, min_lat, max_lon, max_lat = geom.bounds
 
     for zoom in range(12, -1, -1):
         tiles = list(mercantile.tiles(min_lon, min_lat, max_lon, max_lat, zooms=zoom))
@@ -79,7 +70,6 @@ def quadkey(geojson_input):
         geojson_data = json.load(geojson_input)
     else:
         geojson_data = json.load(click.get_text_stream('stdin'))
-    
     result = geojson_to_quadkey(geojson_data)
     click.echo(result)
 
@@ -132,9 +122,8 @@ def quad2json(quadkey_input):
     result = quadkey_to_geojson(quadkey_input)
     click.echo(json.dumps(result, indent=2))
 
-
 def download(
-        geojson_data: Dict[str, Any], 
+        geojson_data: Dict[str, Any],
         dst: Union[Path, str] = "buildings.json",
         source: Union[Source, str] = Source.OVERTURE,
         format: Optional[Union[Format, str]] = None, 
@@ -332,4 +321,4 @@ def print_elapsed_time(start_time):
 #cli.add_command(download)
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    cli()
\ No newline at end of file
+    cli()
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 520f6c2..e581b60 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ duckdb
 pandas
 geopandas
 pyogrio
+osmnx
 shapely
 openlocationcode
 tabulate
diff --git a/tests/test_open_buildings.py b/tests/test_open_buildings.py
index 92365d9..56aa717 100644
--- a/tests/test_open_buildings.py
+++ b/tests/test_open_buildings.py
@@ -3,10 +3,12 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 import os
 import json
+from shapely.geometry import shape, box, mapping
 import re
 import subprocess
 
 from open_buildings.download_buildings import download, geojson_to_wkt, geojson_to_quadkey, quadkey_to_geojson
+from open_buildings.cli import geocode
 from open_buildings.settings import Source, Format, settings
 
 ###########################################################################
@@ -60,11 +62,17 @@ def test_geojson_to_wkt(aoi: Dict[str, Any]):
 def test_geojson_to_quadkey(aoi: Dict[str, Any]):
     """ Tests geojson_to_quadkey() using a pre-established true value. """
     assert geojson_to_quadkey(aoi) == '301001330310'
-
+    
 def test_quadkey_to_geojson():
     """ Tests quadkey_to_geojson() using a pre-established true value. """
     assert quadkey_to_geojson('031313131112') == {'type': 'Feature', 'geometry': {'type': 'Polygon', 'coordinates': [[[-0.17578125, 51.50874245880333], [-0.087890625, 51.50874245880333], [-0.087890625, 51.56341232867588], [-0.17578125, 51.56341232867588], [-0.17578125, 51.50874245880333]]]}}
 
+def test_geocode():
+    """ Tests geocode() using a pre-established true value. Verifies the bbox of the returned geometry. """
+    geocoding_result = geocode('plymouth')
+    assert geocoding_result["type"] == "Feature"
+    assert shape(geocoding_result["geometry"]).bounds == (-4.2055324, 50.3327426, -4.0196056, 50.4441737)
+
 @pytest.mark.integration
 @pytest.mark.flaky(reruns=NUM_RERUNS)
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("source", [s for s in Source])
@@ -145,7 +153,7 @@ def test_cli_get_buildings_from_file_to_directory(aoi: Dict[str, Any], tmp_path:
     input_path = tmp_path.joinpath("input.json")
     with open(input_path, "w") as f:
         json.dump(aoi, f)
-    subprocess.run(["ob", "get_buildings", str(input_path), str(tmp_path), "--country_iso", "SC"])
+    subprocess.run(["ob", "get_buildings", str(input_path), "--dst", str(tmp_path), "--country_iso", "SC"], check=True)
     output_path = tmp_path.joinpath("buildings.json") # default file name
     assert os.path.exists(output_path)
     assert os.path.getsize(output_path) != 0
@@ -159,7 +167,7 @@ def test_cli_get_buildings_from_stdin_to_directory(aoi: Dict[str, Any], tmp_path
     Verifies that a log message with timestamp gets written to stdout. 
     """
     # we can't use pipes (e.g. f"echo {json.dumps(aoi)} | ...") in subprocess.run, instead we pass the json as stdin using the input/text arguments,
-    process = subprocess.run([ "ob", "get_buildings", "-", str(tmp_path), "--country_iso", "SC"], input=json.dumps(aoi), text=True,check=True, capture_output=True)
+    process = subprocess.run([ "ob", "get_buildings", "-", "--dst", str(tmp_path), "--country_iso", "SC"], input=json.dumps(aoi), text=True, check=True, capture_output=True)
     dt_regex = re.compile(r"^\[[0-9]{4}(-[0-9]{2}){2} ([0-9]{2}:){2}[0-9]{2}\] ") # match timestamp format e.g. "[2023-10-18 19:08:24]"
     assert dt_regex.search(process.stdout) # ensure that stdout contains at least one timestamped message
     output_path = tmp_path.joinpath("buildings.json") # default file name
@@ -175,7 +183,7 @@ def test_cli_get_buildings_from_stdin_to_file_silent(aoi: Dict[str, Any], tmp_pa
     """
     output_path = tmp_path.joinpath("test123.json")
     # we can't use pipes (e.g. f"echo {json.dumps(aoi)} | ...") in subprocess.run, instead we pass the json as stdin using the input/text arguments,
-    process = subprocess.run(["ob", "get_buildings", "-", str(output_path), "--silent", "--country_iso", "SC"], input=json.dumps(aoi), text=True, check=True, capture_output=True)
+    process = subprocess.run(["ob", "get_buildings", "-", "--dst", str(output_path), "--silent", "--country_iso", "SC"], input=json.dumps(aoi), text=True, check=True, capture_output=True)
     assert process.stdout == "" # assert that nothing gets printed to stdout
     assert process.stderr == "" # assert that nothing gets printed to stdout
     assert os.path.exists(output_path)
@@ -193,8 +201,31 @@ def test_cli_get_buildings_from_stdin_to_file_overwrite_false(aoi: Dict[str, Any
     with open(output_path, "w") as f:
         f.write("Foo bar")
     # we can't use pipes (e.g. f"echo {json.dumps(aoi)} | ...") in subprocess.run, instead we pass the json as stdin using the input/text arguments,
-    process = subprocess.run(["ob", "get_buildings", "-", str(output_path), "--country_iso", "SC"], input=json.dumps(aoi), text=True, check=True, capture_output=True)
+    process = subprocess.run(["ob", "get_buildings", "-", "--dst", str(output_path), "--country_iso", "SC"], input=json.dumps(aoi), text=True, check=True, capture_output=True)
     assert os.path.exists(output_path)
     with open(output_path, "r") as f:
         assert f.read() == "Foo bar" # verify that the file still has the same content as before
-    assert "exists" in process.stdout # verify that the user has been warned about the existing file
\ No newline at end of file
+    assert "exists" in process.stdout # verify that the user has been warned about the existing file
+
+@pytest.mark.integration
+@pytest.mark.flaky(reruns=NUM_RERUNS)
+def test_cli_get_buildings_geocode(tmp_path: Path):
+    """ 
+    Tests the geocoding functionality, implemented as the argument "location".
+    """
+    output_path = tmp_path.joinpath("geocode_test.json")
+    subprocess.run(["ob", "get_buildings", "--dst", str(output_path), "--location", "oxford uk", "--country_iso", "GB"], check=True)
+    assert os.path.exists(output_path)
+    assert os.path.getsize(output_path) != 0
+
+@pytest.mark.integration
+@pytest.mark.flaky(reruns=NUM_RERUNS)
+def test_cli_get_buildings_geocode_multipolygon(tmp_path: Path):
+    """ 
+    Tests the geocoding functionality, implemented as the argument "location". Makes sure that a MultiPolygon geometry (the outline of Dubrovnik)
+    is simplified to a polygon (convex hull).
+    """
+    output_path = tmp_path.joinpath("geocode_test.json")
+    subprocess.run(["ob", "get_buildings", "--dst", str(output_path), "--location", "dubrovnik", "--country_iso", "HR"], check=True)
+    assert os.path.exists(output_path)
+    assert os.path.getsize(output_path) != 0
\ No newline at end of file