Project Description
GovHack 2025: Visualising Victoria’s near-term change
Tagline: See what’s being built, where people move, and what that means for schools, safety and everyday access, then ask questions about it.
The problem
Cities change fast. A single new development can shift school demand, parking, or safety in ways that aren’t obvious until it’s too late. Planners, community groups and residents need simple, evidence-driven views of future development and local service pressure, not spreadsheets.
What we built
A lightweight web app that brings together 2025 building permits, crime data, and school catchment / enrolment info into one interactive interface, with an AI assistant that answers questions about the plots you’re looking at.
Key pieces:
- Interactive map of building permits (2025, Victoria) showing location, type and estimated capacity.
- Crime visualisations: map + distribution charts + simple breakdowns to spot trends by area.
- School map with reported enrolments and capacity signals so you can see where demand is growing.
- An integrated AI-powered helper: point at a plot or select charts and ask plain-English questions (e.g., “Which primary schools are likely to face capacity pressure within 1–2 km of these new developments?”). The assistant grounds answers in the visible plots and data.
Why this matters for the GovHack challenges
- 20-Minute Neighbourhoods: We surface how new developments change local access to services, identify gaps in schools, parks, or safety within walking distance. That gives communities and councils actionable starting points for targeting improvements.
- Community Housing & Infrastructure Planning: By visualising where permits cluster and overlaying school capacity and crime trends, the app highlights neighbourhoods likely to experience housing stress or require upgraded services.
Example uses (real, direct)
- A councillor checks a suburb and asks: “Will local primary schools need extra capacity if all these permits become houses?”
- A community group filters for high-permit density + rising crime and exports a simple one-page brief to start a conversation with the council.
- A planner compares permit types (mixed-use vs single dwellings) to anticipate transport or childcare needs.
Try it / Share feedback
All the code is publicly availabe here: https://github.com/YacineAnane/GovHack2025
We want criticism, not applause. If you want the demo link, screenshots, or the repo, tell us which and we’ll send it, or drop by our stand and we’ll walk you through a live query.
