Coolight: Enhancing Nighttime Safety for Urban Student Commuters

Safety while walking alone at night is a key indicator of a citizen's well-being and a society's inclusiveness. However, this is not equally felt across all demographic groups, especially for university students living in urban areas. We present Coolight, a mobile application designed to reduce stress and anxiety for nighttime walking through an interactive live map, real-time community incident reports, location sharing, and a route planner optimized for user safety. Coolight's design was informed through interviews, questionnaires, and usability tests with university students and their friends and families in Toronto, Canada. This paper describes the concept, research, design approach, and evaluation results of a solution addressing safety concerns urban commuters face at night.