Julie Sydenham wins prize for best project

2 Apr 2025

Julie Sydenham has won this year's prize for the best final-year digital humanities project at University College Cork, sponsored by Horner Automation Group.

The project, How can crowdsourcing participation be used to map safer pedestrian routes in Cork city?, uses crowdsourcing and the Google Maps API.

Julie's study explores the concept of 'emotional mapping' and examines the significance and validity of subjective data by crowdsourcing local knowledge and opinions on how and why certain areas of Cork city are perceived to be safe or unsafe and investigates how important factors such as adequate street lighting, access to public transport, and crowd density contribute to feelings of safety.

This project aims to create a unique resource for vulnerable groups and those unfamiliar with the Cork area, assisting in safer pedestrian navigation and highlighting potentially unsafe areas.

Julie is a final year Digital Humanities and Information Technology (CK118) student from Douglas, minoring in Sociology.

Her project was supervised by Dr Mike Cosgrave.