Click anywhere on the courtyard/rooftop plot to drop the hive there. Two independent checks run every time it moves: a buffer-distance check against the paved footpath and the nearest facade windows (bees crossing a walkway at head height, or launching straight past a window, are the main source of neighbour complaints in dense urban siting), and a forage-reachability check that sums the parks and street trees within typical honeybee flight range, weighting nearer patches more heavily since foraging cost rises with distance.
clearance_ok = min(dist_to_path, dist_to_window) ≥ buffer
forage = Σ 1/(1 + distance_i) over patches within range
flight_clear = corridor (opposite the nearest conflict) does not cross the path
- Required buffer — the minimum clearance a hive needs from footpaths and windows; UK guidance typically favours several metres or a forced high launch (fence/hedge) where that isn't available.
- Conflict zones — red discs mark the paved path and each facade window; place the hive outside them and keep the buffer ring clear too.
- Forage rings — three concentric rings around the hive show progressively longer flight distances; more park/tree canopy caught inside the inner rings means cheaper, more reliable forage.
- Flight corridor — the amber arrow shows the recommended launch direction, pointed away from the nearest conflict; it turns red if that direction still crosses the footpath.
Real-world relevance: this is exactly the trade-off an urban beekeeper works through before committing a hive to a courtyard or rooftop spot — balancing legal/neighbourly buffer distances against how much genuine forage the site can actually reach.