UrbView: "Designing Cities for All Genders and Colours"

Women and LGBTQ+ individuals face pervasive physical, verbal, and non-verbal harassment in public spaces worldwide. In Germany, studies reveal that 40% of women have encountered such harassment. Around 1 million annual crimes are reported in urban areas, impacting citizens' perception and use of public spaces. The ensuing problems of street harassment and crimes in urban spaces extend beyond the immediate psychological toll on victims. Marginalized groups (aka potential victims) as studies suggest, experience obstacles in using public transportation, opting for non-sustainable alternatives like taxis or private cars. Notably, 36.7% of the general population and 66% of women feel unsafe using public transport at night in Germany. The fear of harassment also deters engagement in active transport (walking and cycling), leading to reduced exercise for women and LGBTQ+ members. Moreover, the impact trickles down to businesses located in unsafe areas, causing financial losses for restaurants and shops.
Crime and sexual harassment in public spaces stems from various factors, with urban planning and city design playing a pivotal but overlooked role. Research underscores the significant impact of built environment factors like mixed land use, building density, placement of hedges, benches etc. on the pattern of direct light, visibility, visual privacy, occlusivity, open space, and more in an area. Therefore, design factors of an urban space demonstrated to be closely correlated with citizens’ perception of safety and crimes. Current urban planning lacks technological tools for security and crime prevention. UrbView addresses this gap with AI-based tools, enhancing urban environments and reducing street harassment and crime rates.
UrbView's innovative methodology employs cutting-edge AI models that analyze city images, textual data, and statistical crime data. By identifying urban planning errors contributing to crime occurrences, our solution empowers urban planners and architects to proactively assess and enhance the safety of their designs. This transformative approach distinguishes UrbView from traditional methods that primarily rely on citizen alert systems, emphasizing the importance of preventive urban planning to foster a safer environment. UrbView s analysis and tools can be used by different stakeholders, including real estate companies, Urban crime prevention department (Städtebauliche Kriminalprävention) in police, security and infrastructure units in public transport companies, as well as private urban planning firms and consultancies. By providing actionable insights for efficient location planning and error identification before construction which is derived from comprehensive data analysis, UrbView becomes an invaluable ally for these entities. UrbView approach will contribute to enhanced safety, informed decision-making, and the creation of urban spaces that prioritize the well-being of all citizens.

We're a startup focused on making a positive social impact, and here's what we aim to achieve:
1. Reducing Crimes and Street Harassment: By implementing our solutions, we aim to lower the number of crimes and incidents of street harassment in urban areas.
2. Raising Awareness: We want to educate city governments, politicians, architects, and city planners about the importance of safe urban planning to tackle street harassment and crimes.
3. Improving Mental and Physical Well-being: Creating safer urban environments benefits everyone's mental and physical health including women and LGBTQ+, and other minorities.
4. Promoting Sustainable Transportation: We want to encourage the use of sustainable transport options like public transport, walking, and cycling by making urban spaces safer.

Our technology is designed for both private and public stakeholders involved in city safety and design:

• Landeskriminalamt
• Urban development/planning companies
• Real estate companies
• Public transport companies

While these stakeholders benefit directly from our technology, the ultimate beneficiaries are the general public. UrbView's impact extends to the safety and well-being of all citizens in metropolitan areas.

In UrbView, our aim is simple: to create safe cities for everyone, regardless of gender or race. What makes UrbView different from other solutions is our fresh approach to tackling street harassment and urban crimes. Instead of just relying on apps that alert people on dangerous locations, we focus on improving the design of areas where problems occur. This means we're not just putting the responsibility on citizens to stay safe; we're actively making places safer through better urban planning and design.
Supporting UrbView means making life better for everyone in your city and beyond. Our technology which has been the winner of several awards and funding isn't limited to one place—it can be adapted for different cities in Germany and even other countries. By backing UrbView, you're joining us to take further steps towards our vision "Designing Cities for All Genders and Colours".

With a contribution in our project, you will support the following impacts:
Product Development:
For this aspect, we're aiming to enhance our product in a couple of ways. Firstly, we'll be allocating funds towards essential needs such as purchasing laptops and securing software subscriptions, ensuring smooth operations. Additionally, allocating budget to services like AWS are key steps to empower our team's productivity. Moreover, we're keen on collaborating with external urban planners who specialize in computational design, urban data science and analytics. Their expertise will be invaluable in refining our product to better serve our mission.
Legal Expenses:
Navigating the legal landscape, particularly concerning data and AI regulations in Germany and the EU, is crucial. To ensure compliance, we'll be engaging lawyers and tax advisors. Their guidance will be instrumental in safeguarding our operations.
Urgent Needs:
Our immediate needs include covering legal and tax advisor fees, acquiring laptops, engaging urban planner students, and accounting for any unforeseen expenses. The total for these urgent requirements amounts to €37,390.20 including taxes.
Further Development and Market Launch:
Looking ahead, we're focused on sustaining momentum in product development and preparing for a successful market launch. This entails hiring a part-time urban planner consultant with computational design expertise, securing 3 months' worth of salaries until our investment round is finalized, and allocating funds for AWS services. The total for these ongoing initiatives comes to €36,343, including taxes.
Total Funding Required:
In sum, we're seeking €73,733.20, including taxes, to fulfill our immediate needs and sustain momentum in product development and market launch preparations.
Your support will play a pivotal role in helping us achieve our goals and bring our vision to life. Thank you for considering joining us on this journey!