NavSecure

• 

  MapPage

Every day, millions of people walk or bike through unfamiliar neighborhoods — students heading to late classes, solo travelers exploring new cities, or night-shift workers commuting home. Traditional navigation apps prioritize the shortest or fastest route, but they don't consider safety. That’s what inspired PathGuard — a navigation tool that helps users find routes that prioritize personal safety. PathGuard uses real-time mapping powered by Google Maps Platform APIs and overlays public safety data to help users avoid areas with high crime rates. We also highlight nearby safe zones such as police stations or well-lit 24/7 establishments.

Inspiration This project was inspired by: ->Personal experiences walking in poorly lit or unsafe areas late at night Stories of women and travelers using “safe route” communities to avoid dangerous zones The potential of geospatial intelligence to improve everyday lives, beyond just directions

What I Learned Deep integration of multiple Google Maps Platform APIs (Directions, Places, and Heatmap Layer)

How to visualize risk data effectively on maps

How UI/UX choices (like heatmaps, route highlighting) directly impact user trust and decision-making

How I Built It Started with a basic Google Maps integration using @react-google-maps/api

Added DirectionsRenderer to plot routes

Overlaid HeatmapLayer with simulated crime data

Used the Places API to identify nearby safe locations like police stations

Created an interactive UI in React with a clean, mobile-first layout

Deployed with Vercel for instant accessibility

Challenges Faced Balancing route optimization with safety metrics

Integrating heatmap data from external (or simulated) datasets

Managing API quota while testing frequently

Creating a demo-ready version with limited real-world datasets but still conveying the concept clearly.

Built With

• css
• javascript
• react