diff --git a/docs/source/osmnx.rst b/docs/source/osmnx.rst
index 662ed94fe..d58cf1f46 100644
--- a/docs/source/osmnx.rst
+++ b/docs/source/osmnx.rst
@@ -9,14 +9,6 @@ osmnx.bearing module
     :undoc-members:
     :show-inheritance:
 
-osmnx.boundaries module
------------------------
-
-.. automodule:: osmnx.boundaries
-    :members:
-    :undoc-members:
-    :show-inheritance:
-
 osmnx.distance module
 ---------------------
 
@@ -57,6 +49,14 @@ osmnx.footprints module
     :undoc-members:
     :show-inheritance:
 
+osmnx.geocoding module
+----------------------
+
+.. automodule:: osmnx.geocoding
+    :members:
+    :undoc-members:
+    :show-inheritance:
+
 osmnx.graph module
 ------------------
 
diff --git a/osmnx/_api.py b/osmnx/_api.py
index 7d5453503..48be3eeac 100644
--- a/osmnx/_api.py
+++ b/osmnx/_api.py
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 from .footprints import footprints_from_place
 from .footprints import footprints_from_point
 from .footprints import footprints_from_polygon
+from .geocoding import geocode
+from .geocoding import geocode_to_gdf
 from .graph import graph_from_address
 from .graph import graph_from_bbox
 from .graph import graph_from_place
@@ -46,7 +48,6 @@
 from .utils import config
 from .utils import log
 from .utils import ts
-from .utils_geo import geocode
 from .utils_graph import get_undirected
 from .utils_graph import graph_from_gdfs
 from .utils_graph import graph_to_gdfs
diff --git a/osmnx/boundaries.py b/osmnx/boundaries.py
index 774e2dbec..07a00621a 100644
--- a/osmnx/boundaries.py
+++ b/osmnx/boundaries.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Create GeoDataFrames of place boundaries."""
 
 import logging as lg
+import warnings
 
 import geopandas as gpd
 
@@ -12,10 +13,7 @@
 
 def gdf_from_place(query, which_result=1, buffer_dist=None):
     """
-    Create a GeoDataFrame from a single place name query.
-
-    Geocode the query with Nominatim then turn it into a GeoDataFrame with
-    a geometry column.
+    Use `geocoding.geocode_to_gdf()` instead (deprecated).
 
     Parameters
     ----------
@@ -30,6 +28,13 @@ def gdf_from_place(query, which_result=1, buffer_dist=None):
     -------
     gdf : geopandas.GeoDataFrame
     """
+    msg = (
+        "The `boundaries` module has been deprecated and will be removed "
+        "in a future relase. Use the `geocoding` module's `geocode_to_gdf` "
+        "function instead."
+    )
+    warnings.warn(msg)
+
     # ensure query type
     if not isinstance(query, (str, dict)):
         raise ValueError("query must be a dict or a string")
@@ -87,10 +92,7 @@ def gdf_from_place(query, which_result=1, buffer_dist=None):
 
 def gdf_from_places(queries, which_results=None, buffer_dist=None):
     """
-    Create a GeoDataFrame from a list of place name queries.
-
-    Geocode the queries with Nominatim then turn result into GeoDataFrame with
-    a geometry column.
+    Use `geocoding.geocode_to_gdf()` instead (deprecated).
 
     Parameters
     ----------
@@ -107,6 +109,13 @@ def gdf_from_places(queries, which_results=None, buffer_dist=None):
     -------
     gdf : geopandas.GeoDataFrame
     """
+    msg = (
+        "The `boundaries` module has been deprecated and will be removed "
+        "in a future relase. Use the `geocoding` module's `geocode_to_gdf` "
+        "function instead."
+    )
+    warnings.warn(msg)
+
     # create an empty GeoDataFrame then append each result as a new row,
     # checking for the presence of which_results
     gdf = gpd.GeoDataFrame()
diff --git a/osmnx/footprints.py b/osmnx/footprints.py
index 76716f092..869e828cb 100644
--- a/osmnx/footprints.py
+++ b/osmnx/footprints.py
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 from shapely.geometry import Polygon
 from shapely.ops import polygonize
 
-from . import boundaries
 from . import downloader
+from . import geocoding
 from . import projection
 from . import settings
 from . import utils
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ def footprints_from_address(address, dist=1000, footprint_type="building", retai
     other custom settings via ox.config().
     """
     # geocode the address string to a (lat, lng) point
-    point = utils_geo.geocode(query=address)
+    point = geocoding.geocode(query=address)
 
     # get footprints within distance of this point
     return footprints_from_point(point, dist, footprint_type, retain_invalid)
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ def footprints_from_place(place, footprint_type="building", retain_invalid=False
     You can configure the Overpass server timeout, memory allocation, and
     other custom settings via ox.config().
     """
-    city = boundaries.gdf_from_place(place, which_result=which_result)
+    city = geocoding.geocode_to_gdf(place, which_result=which_result)
     polygon = city["geometry"].iloc[0]
     return footprints_from_polygon(polygon, footprint_type, retain_invalid)
 
diff --git a/osmnx/geocoding.py b/osmnx/geocoding.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..96609495c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/osmnx/geocoding.py
@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+"""Geocode queries and create GeoDataFrames of place boundaries."""
+
+import logging as lg
+from collections import OrderedDict
+
+import geopandas as gpd
+
+from . import downloader
+from . import projection
+from . import settings
+from . import utils
+
+
+def geocode(query):
+    """
+    Geocode a query string to (lat, lng) with the Nominatim geocoder.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    query : string
+        the query string to geocode
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    point : tuple
+        the (lat, lng) coordinates returned by the geocoder
+    """
+    # define the parameters
+    params = OrderedDict()
+    params["format"] = "json"
+    params["limit"] = 1
+    params[
+        "dedupe"
+    ] = 0  # prevent OSM from deduping results so we get precisely 'limit' # of results
+    params["q"] = query
+    response_json = downloader.nominatim_request(params=params)
+
+    # if results were returned, parse lat and long out of the result
+    if len(response_json) > 0 and "lat" in response_json[0] and "lon" in response_json[0]:
+        lat = float(response_json[0]["lat"])
+        lng = float(response_json[0]["lon"])
+        point = (lat, lng)
+        utils.log(f'Geocoded "{query}" to {point}')
+        return point
+    else:
+        raise Exception(f'Nominatim geocoder returned no results for query "{query}"')
+
+
+def geocode_to_gdf(query, which_result=1, buffer_dist=None):
+    """
+    Geocode a query or queries to a GeoDataFrame with the Nominatim geocoder.
+
+    Geometry column contains place boundaries if they exist in OpenStreetMap.
+    Query can be a string or dict, or a list of strings/dicts to send to the
+    geocoder. If query is a list, then which_result should be a list of the
+    same length.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    query : string or dict or list
+        query string or structured dict to geocode/download
+    which_result : int or list
+        max number of results to return and which to process upon receipt; if
+        passing a list then it must be same length as query
+    buffer_dist : float
+        distance to buffer around the place geometry, in meters
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    gdf : geopandas.GeoDataFrame
+    """
+    # if caller passed a list of queries but a scalar which_result value, then
+    # turn which_result into a list with same length as query list
+    if isinstance(query, list) and isinstance(which_result, int):
+        which_result = [which_result] * len(query)
+
+    # turn query and which_result into lists if they're not already
+    if not isinstance(query, list):
+        query = [query]
+    if not isinstance(which_result, list):
+        which_result = [which_result]
+
+    # ensure same length
+    if len(query) != len(which_result):
+        raise ValueError("which_result length must equal query length")
+
+    # ensure query type
+    for q in query:
+        if not isinstance(q, (str, dict)):
+            raise ValueError("each query must be a dict or a string")
+
+    # geocode each query and add to GeoDataFrame as a new row
+    gdf = gpd.GeoDataFrame()
+    for q, wr in zip(query, which_result):
+        gdf_tmp = _geocode_query_to_gdf(q, wr)
+        gdf = gdf.append(gdf_tmp)
+
+    # reset GeoDataFrame index and set its CRS
+    gdf = gdf.reset_index(drop=True)
+    gdf.crs = settings.default_crs
+
+    # if buffer_dist was passed in, project the geometry to UTM, buffer it in
+    # meters, then project it back to lat-lng
+    if buffer_dist is not None and len(gdf) > 0:
+        gdf_utm = projection.project_gdf(gdf)
+        gdf_utm["geometry"] = gdf_utm["geometry"].buffer(buffer_dist)
+        gdf = projection.project_gdf(gdf_utm, to_latlong=True)
+        utils.log(f"Buffered GeoDataFrame to {buffer_dist} meters")
+
+    utils.log(f"Created GeoDataFrame with {len(gdf)} rows from {len(query)} queries")
+    return gdf
+
+
+def _geocode_query_to_gdf(query, which_result=1):
+    """
+    Geocode a single place query to a GeoDataFrame.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    query : string or dict
+        query string or structured dict to geocode/download
+    which_result : int
+        max number of results to return and which to process upon receipt
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    gdf : geopandas.GeoDataFrame
+    """
+    data = downloader._osm_polygon_download(query, limit=which_result)
+
+    if len(data) >= which_result:
+        # extract data elements from the JSON response
+        result = data[which_result - 1]
+        bbox_south, bbox_north, bbox_west, bbox_east = [float(x) for x in result["boundingbox"]]
+        geometry = result["geojson"]
+        place = result["display_name"]
+        features = [
+            {
+                "type": "Feature",
+                "geometry": geometry,
+                "properties": {
+                    "place_name": place,
+                    "bbox_north": bbox_north,
+                    "bbox_south": bbox_south,
+                    "bbox_east": bbox_east,
+                    "bbox_west": bbox_west,
+                },
+            }
+        ]
+
+        # if we got an unexpected geometry type (like a point), log a warning
+        if geometry["type"] not in ["Polygon", "MultiPolygon"]:
+            utils.log(f'OSM returned a {geometry["type"]} as the geometry', level=lg.WARNING)
+
+        # create the GeoDataFrame
+        return gpd.GeoDataFrame.from_features(features)
+    else:
+        # if no data returned (or fewer results than which_result)
+        msg = f'OSM returned no results (or fewer than which_result) for query "{query}"'
+        utils.log(msg, level=lg.WARNING)
+        return gpd.GeoDataFrame()
diff --git a/osmnx/graph.py b/osmnx/graph.py
index 778921229..2deab8808 100644
--- a/osmnx/graph.py
+++ b/osmnx/graph.py
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@
 from shapely.geometry import MultiPolygon
 from shapely.geometry import Polygon
 
-from . import boundaries
 from . import distance
 from . import downloader
+from . import geocoding
 from . import projection
 from . import settings
 from . import simplification
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ def graph_from_address(
     other custom settings via ox.config().
     """
     # geocode the address string to a (lat, lng) point
-    point = utils_geo.geocode(query=address)
+    point = geocoding.geocode(query=address)
 
     # then create a graph from this point
     G = graph_from_point(
@@ -324,12 +324,12 @@ def graph_from_place(
     if isinstance(query, (str, dict)):
         # if it is a string (place name) or dict (structured place query), then
         # it is a single place
-        gdf_place = boundaries.gdf_from_place(
+        gdf_place = geocoding.geocode_to_gdf(
             query, which_result=which_result, buffer_dist=buffer_dist
         )
     elif isinstance(query, list):
         # if it is a list, it contains multiple places to get
-        gdf_place = boundaries.gdf_from_places(query, buffer_dist=buffer_dist)
+        gdf_place = geocoding.geocode_to_gdf(query, buffer_dist=buffer_dist)
     else:
         raise TypeError("query must be dict, string, or list of strings")
 
diff --git a/osmnx/pois.py b/osmnx/pois.py
index 7a913a7a0..07ced1acd 100644
--- a/osmnx/pois.py
+++ b/osmnx/pois.py
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 from shapely.geometry import Point
 from shapely.geometry import Polygon
 
-from . import boundaries
 from . import downloader
+from . import geocoding
 from . import settings
 from . import utils
 from . import utils_geo
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ def pois_from_address(address, tags, dist=1000):
     other custom settings via ox.config().
     """
     # geocode the address string to a (lat, lng) point
-    point = utils_geo.geocode(query=address)
+    point = geocoding.geocode(query=address)
     return pois_from_point(point=point, tags=tags, dist=dist)
 
 
@@ -475,7 +475,7 @@ def pois_from_place(place, tags, which_result=1):
     You can configure the Overpass server timeout, memory allocation, and
     other custom settings via ox.config().
     """
-    city = boundaries.gdf_from_place(place, which_result=which_result)
+    city = geocoding.geocode_to_gdf(place, which_result=which_result)
     polygon = city["geometry"].iloc[0]
     return pois_from_polygon(polygon, tags)
 
diff --git a/osmnx/utils_geo.py b/osmnx/utils_geo.py
index ec08309e9..240dc5bbd 100644
--- a/osmnx/utils_geo.py
+++ b/osmnx/utils_geo.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Geospatial utility functions."""
 
 import math
+import warnings
 from collections import OrderedDict
 
 import numpy as np
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@
 
 def geocode(query):
     """
-    Geocode a query string to (lat, lng) with the Nominatim geocoder.
+    Use `geocoding.geocode()` instead (deprecated).
 
     Parameters
     ----------
@@ -33,6 +34,12 @@ def geocode(query):
     point : tuple
         the (lat, lng) coordinates returned by the geocoder
     """
+    msg = (
+        "The `geocode` function has been moved from `utils_geo` to the "
+        "new `geocoding` module. Access it there accordingly."
+    )
+    warnings.warn(msg)
+
     # define the parameters
     params = OrderedDict()
     params["format"] = "json"