Waze Police Alert Heatmap Project

This project leverages deck.gl and Mapbox to display a dynamic, interactive heatmap of police alert data collected from Waze's live map API. The application visualizes hotspots where police presence is frequently reported, providing valuable insights for traffic analysis, law enforcement planning, and community awareness.

Features

Interactive Visualization: Renders a heatmap using HeatmapLayer from deck.gl, with color gradients representing the density of police alerts. Integrates Mapbox tiles as the base layer for seamless exploration.
Real-Time Data: Dynamically updates based on Waze alerts, ensuring the heatmap reflects current traffic conditions and police reports.
Efficient Backend: Data is processed and stored in an SQLite database, enabling efficient querying and serving to the frontend visualization.
Customizable Views: Users can adjust zoom levels, pan across regions, and explore the map interactively for detailed insights into specific locations.

Technologies Used

Frontend:
- deck.gl: A high-performance library for rendering large-scale data visualizations.
- Mapbox: Provides a versatile and visually appealing tile-based map interface.
Backend:
- Python: Handles Waze API requests, data processing, and database interactions.
- SQLite: Stores collected data with geolocation, timestamps, and metadata for efficient retrieval.
Visualization Features:
- A TileLayer renders the base map with OpenStreetMap tiles.
- A HeatmapLayer aggregates and visually represents the density of police reports using customizable color ranges.

Example Use Cases

Traffic Analysis: Identify roads with frequent police activity, helping planners and drivers adapt to enforcement trends.
Urban Planning: Assist local governments in deploying road safety measures or resource allocation.
Community Awareness: Provide real-time information to users for safer and more informed travel decisions.

This project combines geospatial data and interactive tools to deliver actionable insights, making it accessible and impactful for various applications.