Get there the safer way.
Nuvella Navigation plans walking and biking routes along better-lit streets with fewer recent incidents, then stays with you: share your trip, check in, and get to the nearest safe place in one tap.
Piloting at UC Berkeley, in Berkeley and in Emeryville.
Where it began
It all started when I was taking a class at UPenn. I didn’t know the city at all, and I had to walk everywhere.
Map apps gave me directions, but the fastest route kept sending me through parts of the city that felt shady and eerie. Nobody had asked whether I’d be okay walking there.
That’s when I realized safety isn’t part of navigation. Maps tell you how to get somewhere. They never tell you how it will feel to get there.
So I started building the navigation I wished I’d had.
Pick a place. See the choice. Walk it.
You choose where
Search a destination. Nuvella Navigation plans the fastest route and a safer one, and shows how far apart they really are.
It weighs the street
Recent reported incidents, how well lit a street is, and whether it is a main street or a back alley all count. The safer route is capped so it never turns into a huge detour.
It stays with you
Turn-by-turn guidance, an alert if you drift off route, and live sharing so someone can follow along if you want them to.
Built for getting home.
Routes that prefer lit, busy streets
Walking and biking routes, with transit stops alongside, are weighted by recent street-level incidents and lighting, with extra care after dark. Where there is little data, Nuvella Navigation says so instead of implying a street is safe.
Share My Walk
Send a link. Friends see where you are until you arrive, and nothing is shared unless you start it.
Check-ins
Set a guardian. If you do not arrive and do not answer, they are alerted.
Escape
One tap routes you to the nearest police station, hospital or fire station and starts guiding you there.
Off-route alerts
Drift from your route and Nuvella Navigation notices, then re-plans without making you stop and fiddle with your phone.
Free during the pilot
Every feature is free while we test in Berkeley. Sign in with your email and a 6-digit code, no password to remember.
A score is an estimate. We show our work.
UC Berkeley campus, City of Berkeley, Emeryville, and the edges of Albany and North Oakland.
Built from public data
Reported incidents from city and police open data, street-lighting service requests, and road type from OpenStreetMap.
Not every place has data
Emeryville and the UC campus have little street-level incident reporting. Routes there are labelled “limited data” and are not presented as reassurance.
A guide, not a guarantee
No dataset is complete, and a score cannot promise a route is safe. In an emergency, call 911; Nuvella Navigation does not contact emergency services for you.
Your location is for your walk.
Used while a walk is active
Location powers routing, off-route alerts and, only when you start it, Share My Walk.
You are in control
End a share at any time, and delete your account from inside the app to remove your trips, contacts and reports.
Read the details
Our privacy policy says exactly what is collected and why, in plain language.
You shouldn’t have to give up freedom to be safe.
Do what you love. Go where you want. Nuvella Navigation suggests a safer way and shows what it costs, then you decide where you go.Join the Nuvella Navigation pilot.
Nuvella Navigation is rolling out to students and residents of UC Berkeley, Berkeley and Emeryville. It is free while we learn from real walks.
Public store listings are coming. Email help@nuvellalabs.me to get a pilot invite.