Community Atlas

Connecting the nation, fostering understanding, and driving progress through hyper-local information.

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🌍 Community Atlas: A Hyper-Local Interactive Dashboard

Community Atlas is a dynamic, data-driven platform designed to centralize and democratize access to sub-district (Upazila)–level information across Bangladesh. By transforming static map data into a “Live Area Wiki,” it provides a 360-degree view of local communities—serving as a vital resource for residents, tourists, students, and researchers.

📌 The Core Problem

Community Atlas addresses multiple structural and social challenges that limit access to reliable local information in Bangladesh:

🔍 Absence of Hyper-Local Digital Infrastructure

Most digital platforms prioritize national or city-level data, leaving Upazila-level communities digitally invisible. This lack of representation makes it difficult for citizens to access accurate, localized knowledge.

🧭 Critical Information Gaps During Emergencies

In urgent situations, people often struggle to quickly find:

  • Nearby hospitals and health facilities
  • Emergency contact numbers
  • Trusted local services

The absence of a centralized, location-aware system can lead to dangerous delays.

📚 Unequal Access to Educational Information

Students and parents outside major cities face challenges discovering:

  • Nearby schools, colleges, and universities
  • Local academic opportunities

This reinforces urban-centric educational inequality.

🌐 Language-Driven Digital Exclusion

Most public data sources and APIs are primarily in English, creating a significant accessibility barrier for Bangla-speaking users and limiting digital participation.

🧩 Fragmented Public Service Data

Information about government offices, health complexes, and public facilities exists across outdated websites and PDFs, making it:

  • Hard to find
  • Difficult to verify
  • Inefficient to use

🧠 Lack of Local Identity & Cultural Representation

Local personalities, history, and contributions are rarely documented at the Upazila level, causing many regions to remain digitally anonymous.

🧳 Unsafe & Uninformed Local Tourism

Tourists often lack:

  • Verified local destinations
  • Emergency guidance
  • Reliable contextual information

This limits tourism potential and increases safety risks.

📉 Data Blind Spots for Research & Planning

Researchers and policymakers lack easy access to micro-level data, reducing the effectiveness of grassroots planning and evidence-based development.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Limited Community Participation

There are few platforms that allow residents to:

  • Share local knowledge
  • Highlight resources
  • Contribute to regional visibility

This prevents communities from becoming active digital stakeholders.

🎯 Problem Summary

Bangladesh lacks a unified, hyper-local, and language-inclusive digital platform that transforms community-level data into accessible, actionable knowledge.

Community Atlas exists to bridge this gap.

🚀 Key Technical Features

Community Atlas leverages a powerful API Mashup & Scraping Engine to synchronize multiple data sources in near real time:

🗺️ Interactive Mapping

  • Built with Leaflet.js
  • Seamless GeoJSON rendering for fluid, responsive interaction
  • One-click Upazila selection triggers contextual data loading

📊 Data Scraping & Aggregation

  • Uses the Wikipedia API to extract:
    • Area
    • Population
    • Number of households
  • Dynamically parses structured and unstructured content

🌐 Smart Localization

  • Instant English → Bangla translation via Google Translate API
  • Ensures accessibility for native Bengali users

📡 Dynamic Information Modules

  • Live Weather
    Powered by Open-Meteo API (temperature, local time)

  • Localized News
    Google News RSS feeds filtered by the selected Upazila

  • Educational Hub
    Displays notable schools, colleges, and universities

  • Hall of Fame
    Lists notable people (politicians, writers, scientists, etc.) from the region

  • Emergency SOS
    Direct call buttons for:

    • Hospitals
    • Emergency services (999)
    • Local health facilities

🧠 System Architecture Overview

User Click ↓ Leaflet Map (GeoJSON) ↓ PHP Controller ↓ ├── Wikipedia API (Data + Images) ├── Open-Meteo API (Weather) ├── Google News RSS (Local News) ├── Google Translate API (Localization) ↓ Data Parsing & Optimization ↓ Dynamic Sidebar UI

💻 Tech Stack

Frontend

  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • Mobile-friendly sidebar with touch-drag UI
  • Responsive design optimized for small screens

Backend

  • PHP
    • API handling
    • Data scraping
    • Content processing and formatting

Libraries

  • Leaflet.js – Interactive mapping
  • Turf.js – Spatial analysis and geographic utilities

APIs & Data Sources

  • Wikipedia API – Area data & images
  • Open-Meteo API – Live weather
  • Google News RSS – Local news
  • Google Translate API – Localization

📱 User Experience

Designed around the philosophy of “One Click, All Info”:

  1. User clicks an Upazila on the interactive map
  2. Sidebar dynamically loads:
    • Overview & statistics
    • Weather
    • News
    • Education
    • Notable people
    • Emergency contacts

The interface is fully optimized for mobile devices, featuring:

  • Smooth animations
  • Custom touch-drag sidebar logic
  • Clean, readable Bangla typography

🛤️ Future Roadmap & Impact

🔧 Planned Enhancements

  • Community Contributions
    Enable locals to submit and update information, fostering a community-driven knowledge base.

  • Advanced Analytics
    Integrate demographic, economic, and development indicators.

  • Educational Expansion
    Serve as a reference platform for students, educators, and researchers.

  • Performance Optimization
    Implement caching to ensure near-instant data loads after the first fetch.

🌱 Social Impact

Community Atlas aims to:

  • Bridge information gaps at the grassroots level
  • Empower citizens with accessible local knowledge
  • Support tourism and regional discovery
  • Promote digital inclusion through Bangla-first design

👤 Author

Presented by:
ওয়াহিদুর রহমান ফারহান (Wahidur Rahman Farhan)

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