Inspiration
In Isla Vista, there is a housing crisis, with no rent control due to manipulative landlords. There is also inefficiency in the system, because every rental group requires the applicants to submit the same forms over and over again to different rental groups, leading to unnecessary backlog.
What it does
Isla Vista Application provides a centralized application that submits non-personal data to create a listing on another website, where rental companies can view and bid on the applicants to fill out their properties next year. By having the rental companies bid on the students, it ensures that prices stay competitive and no rental group overcharges.
Isla Vista Application also displays a map of all the properties, where for example you are just interested on the oceanside DP building or the one right across Freebirds you can contact the rental group just for that one, and not have to fill any application.
How I built it
I used Javascript for the majority of the website, using Typeform as my "application", Google Sheets as my "database", and Trello as my "bidding board".
Challenges I ran into
Rome wasn't built in a day, but this was built in two so there were some challenges, starting from the fact that I did not know how to even upload websites through an FTP client. Google Sheets also had some problems because the API calls did not match the location where I was reading, so I was printing random values until I went through many iterations of the call.
Another challenge that I still haven't been able to solve is that the Trello API only reads the Google Sheets every 15 or so minutes, so the applicants board isn't updated lightning fast.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I'm proud of building the site, integrating the proper calls and APIs, and staying up for quite a long time and making friends, memories, and waves :).
What I learned
I learned many technologies to implement a working website with proper functionalities, but along with the technology, I learned the inefficiency behind many housing zones. Eliminating the inefficiency can improve the industry while making an equitable place for residents, improving the competitiveness in the real estate market in IV and hopefully other college towns.
What's next for Isla Vista Application
Hopefully, after Isla Vista Application, or IVapps, is implemented in IV, there will be a choose your college function, where different college students can apply to housing nearby, creating an equitable market and giving power back to the students in every college town, where they become the sought after commodities.
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