Neighborhood Lens

Inspiration

Real estate decisions often lack local insights like safety, affordability, and community features. We wanted to simplify this using maps and data.

What it does

Neighborhood Lens is an Android app that visualizes crime zones, property listings, and community data on an interactive map to help users make informed housing choices.

How we built it

We used Java with Android Studio, Google Maps SDK, JSON-based mock data, and visual overlays for zones and markers. The app uses location-based insights to display neighborhood intelligence.

Challenges we ran into

• Integrating multiple datasets into a unified visual layer
• Handling runtime permissions and location access
• Designing an intuitive user interface for map-based data

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Built a pitch deck, MVP idea, location-aware UI
• Integrated data overlays for crime and property markers
• Laid foundation for a scalable and data-rich real estate product

What we learned

• Practical use of Google Maps Platform APIs
• Working with spatial data and JSON in Android
• Creating user-friendly data visualizations in Java

What's next for Neighborhood Lens

• Integrate live property listings via APIs
• Add user reviews, school ratings, and heatmaps
• Implement Firebase for user accounts and favorites
• Expand to iOS and web platforms

Built With

• api
• geotools-|-|-json-handling-|-jackson
• gson-|-|-data-import-(etl)-|-apache-poi
• jsoup
• jwt-|-|-geospatial-calculations-|-jts-topology-suite
• oauth2
• opencsv
• rest