PastPortal

Main page
Upload page
Map search (Google Maps integration)

Inspiration:

So many people have experienced devastating losses of their homes and other possessions through the LA wildfires and we constantly see how the world keeps changing around us every day. We reminisce over how things used to be compared to how they are now. This website is also a great way to keep track of al of the locations you have visited by viewing them on a map or choosing the activities you would like to do over a vacation based on the reviews of different hidden gems around the area you are visiting. This will make it easy for people to decide where they would like to travel and also post as they go so that they have their memories stored forever. It is also a sustainable solution to show people the differenced in the environment over time with visual representation in order to encourage them to be grateful with what they have and not further "develop" the world into a place without any nature around for the next generations to see. After all, sustainability includes development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and a visual representation is the perfect way to remind people of the state of the world at the moment.

What it does:

This website gives people. a glimpse into the past through photos and descriptions in different locations around the world. This can act as a review checker for any specific place we may want to visit such that we get real human experiences and memories in such areas or as a place to store images that you have taken over time and in various locations. There is an option to login or sign up and search up a location that will be highlighted on the map. This highlighted portion will let the user view any information or memories that they may have in that area or even add their own pictures and experiences if they have any. It is somewhat like a wholesome space for people to share their experiences either cubically or privately to make sure that they have access to their past as time goes on.

How we built it:

This website was built with: Front-end: HTML, CSS, React, JavaScripte, Flexbox, Google fonts, canva (for the logo) Back-end: MySql, django-rest-framework, Google maps API the website was built with dedicated designation of duties such that there wasn't a single moment of time wasted by any one of us. We all collectively had a very impressive tech stack which we used to its full capacities.

Challenges we ran into:

Our biggest problem was that we wanted to use Melissa API and we were having trouble accessing it since the Melissa booth was only there on the first day of the hackathon. We integrated it as much as we could with limited access to anyone experienced in the field and hope to further the project if required. We ran into some challenges with the waypoints being linked to locations typed in the textbox using the API, and also some challenges formatting all of the front-end of the website. It wasn't anything we couldn't manage to fix though! We did however leave a lot of scope for the future of this website and hope this website is a helpful travel hack that is sustainable and uses Melissa geocode.

Accomplishments that we're proud of:

The waypoints generation based on location is something we are very proud since this along with the upload picture portion of the project were major obstacles that took a lot of our time. The relief we felt when it was completed was simply a thrill that is all a part of this wonderful process. We also have a pop-up on the waypoints that allow multiple pictures that may be in the same point to transition smoothly with left and right arrows and the option to upload directly to the same area as that of a current waypoint which was something we are very proud of.

What we learned:

I think each of us learned something new due to the usage of multiple different languages that we were all not familiar with. Most of us learned react and Django in this process and went through the project life cycle as a team for the first time. We made mistakes such as working on the same branch simultaneously or directly committing to git main branch but along the way I think each and every one of us can say that we learned something new and are proud of our progress.

What's next for PastPortal:

We have not implemented the following and see this as the future for this website:

The option to have pictures that are uploaded privately so that only a certain user(s) can see them
A toggle that allows the user to switch between all the posts they made and all the posts that are publicly available to reduce clutter and let them see their travel progress.
A mobile friendly app that allows taking pictures directly from the app with a geolocation so that they do not need to type us the address and upload it to the website.
The more usage of PastPortal and adding of older pictures will help this website show the true past of what things used to look like versus what they look like now which will be essential for the sustainability aspect of environment preservation.