Walkway
Overview
One winter break in LA, my navigation app told me to walk straight to a bus stop—only to realize it was on a freeway above me, with no stairs or signs in sight. This experience led me to develop Walkway, a navigation app for people who move through cities without cars, because right now, most navigation tools treat pedestrians like an afterthought.
Team
Lead Designer and Researcher // Denisse Mari Aguilar
Designer // Qi Wang
Designer // Kwan Hei Kan
PROBLEM
(pictured: me climbing up on a hill to the freeway above me to get to my stop)
Most cities weren’t designed for pedestrians—they were designed for traffic. Even in places that feel walkable, pedestrian needs like safety, shade, and logical paths often get pushed aside. Current navigation apps are also built with cars in mind, not people. They prioritize the fastest route from point A to B—which makes sense if you’re driving. But for walkers, the experience of the route matters just as much.
So the systems in place aren’t just inconvenient—they’re failing people. And we wanted to know: what could make walking feel doable again?
Here's what people are saying on Reddit:
USER PERSONAS
SOLUTION
Walkway is a navigation app built around the real experiences of pedestrians. It’s crowdsourced, so people can flag hazards, mark safe paths, and share useful tips. It puts walkability, comfort, and accessibility at the front of the equation—not buried somewhere behind “shortest path.”
Because cities shouldn’t ask people to adapt to a car-first world. They should support the way people actually move through them.
ONBOARDING
Users input both needs and preferences to personalize their walking experience. Needs include non-negotiable requirements like wheelchair ramps or curb cuts—features essential for safe and accessible routes. Preferences cover things like shady paths, quiet streets, or scenic detours—details that make your walks more enjoyable. By distinguishing between the two, WalkWay can prioritize what matters most while still customizing for comfort.
COMMUNITY REPORTS
Let’s say Cheyenne wants to get to a bookstore in Koreatown. Walkway helps her pick a route that avoids unlit side streets and shows which parts of the walk have shade during the afternoon heat. She can also see if anyone else flagged construction on the sidewalk that might slow her down. Or Daniel wants to meet a friend for lunch. He checks Walkway and sees which nearby intersections actually have ramps, and avoids the route with broken pavement that other users have flagged before. Each step in the app is designed to prioritize what people on foot actually care about—not just what’s efficient for a car.
TURF WARS
We designed a lightweight gamification system to encourage user contributions without compromising Walkway’s civic goals. Users earn points by reporting hazards and rating routes through their custom avatars. A local leaderboard adds a playful, community-driven layer—think Pokémon Go for pedestrian infrastructure. Our long-term vision includes turf-style competitions where top contributors can “claim” neighborhoods, sparking friendly rivalry over improving the city’s walkability.
Points can be redeemed for transit passes, reinforcing our mission to support accessible, car-free mobility. For added fun, users can also spend points on avatar cosmetics—adding personality to an otherwise task-oriented experience.
While we briefly considered monetary rewards, we chose not to pursue monetization. Tying contributions to cash tends to prioritize quantity over quality, undermining the accuracy and trustworthiness of community data. Walkway isn’t a gig platform—it’s a civic tool. Our incentive structure rewards participation in ways that reinforce access, mobility, and shared public good.
