Section 1: Pin Style Options
Which visual style do you want for hotspot markers on the map?
Option A
Categorized Icon Pins

Each category gets its own color + emoji. Consistent with existing map marker style.

🚧
Water Main
March
🚨
Fire — Urgent
🍕
Food Truck
🎉
Block Party
🚌
🔊
🚔
Pros
  • Instantly know category from pin shape/color
  • Consistent with existing map markers
  • Positive events look inviting (green/food)
Cons
  • 8 distinct colors can get visually noisy
  • Urgency level less immediately obvious
  • Emoji rendering varies by device/OS
Option B
Unified Pulsing Dots

All hotspots are dots, color-coded by urgency only. Category shown in popup card, not on pin.

Emergency
High
Medium
Low
Pros
  • Urgency priority is crystal clear at a glance
  • Cleaner, less visual noise on the map
  • Emergency events are instantly alarming
Cons
  • Can't tell food truck from water main until you tap
  • All positive events look the same as alerts
  • Less discoverable for casual browsing
Option C
Hybrid (Recommended)

Icon pins for positive events (community/food/transit), urgency dots for negative/safety events. Best of both.

Fire
March
🎉
Block Party
🍕
🚌
Water Main
Pros
  • Positive events feel inviting, urgent ones alarming
  • Natural emotional hierarchy baked in
  • Best demo impact — map tells a story
Cons
  • Two visual systems to maintain
  • Edge cases: is noise a dot or icon?

Section 2: Urgency Visual Tiers
Same 4 urgency levels (Emergency / High / Medium / Low) shown 3 different ways. Which approach makes the severity most obvious?
Option A
Size-Based

Bigger = more urgent. Emergency pins are 40px and pulse. Low pins are 26px.

🚨
Emergency
40px + pulse
🔥
High
34px
⚠️
Medium
30px
ℹ️
Low
26px
Pros
  • Instinctive — bigger = more important
  • Easy to scan from a distance
Cons
  • Large pins cover map detail
  • Subtle at medium/low levels
Option B
Color Intensity

Same size, different fill. Emergency = solid + pulse ring. Low = outline-only. Color weight signals urgency.

Emergency
Solid red + pulse
High
Solid orange
Medium
Semi-transparent
Low
Outline only
Pros
  • Pins don't compete for map real estate
  • Fading opacity feels natural (less serious = lighter)
Cons
  • Outline-only can be hard to tap on mobile
  • Semi-transparent may look broken/unfinished
Option C
Size + Glow (Recommended)

Size variation PLUS a glow shadow for emergency and high. Double signal — hardest to miss.

🚨
Emergency
40px + glow + pulse
🔥
High
34px + glow
⚠️
Medium
30px standard
ℹ️
Low
26px standard
Pros
  • Most visually distinct — can't miss emergencies
  • Glow adds spatial emphasis beyond just size
  • Low/medium stay clean without clutter
Cons
  • Slightly more complex to implement (box-shadow)
  • Glow may look busy with many emergency pins

Section 3: Map Placement
Where do hotspot pins live relative to existing map content (properties, businesses, posts)?
Option A
Always-On Layer with Filter Chip

Hotspots render alongside existing map content. A "Hotspots" chip in the filter row toggles them on/off. Default: on.

9:41●●●
Nabe Williamsburg ▾
All
Hotspots 🔥
Posts
Places
Homes
📝
🏠
📝
🎉
+
Pros
  • Hotspots visible immediately without extra taps
  • Emergency pins catch attention on first open
  • Simplest to implement
Cons
  • Map can feel busy with mixed content types
  • Users may want a clean hotspot-only view
Option B
Dedicated Toggle Button

A floating "Hotspots" button on the map. Tapping it activates hotspot mode — hides other content, shows hotspot-only view with their own filter chips.

9:41●●●
Nabe Williamsburg ▾
All
Posts
Places
Homes
📝
🏠
📝
🔥 Hotspots
+
9:41●●●
Nabe 🔥 Hotspot Mode
All
🚨 Urgent
🏗 Infra
🎉 Events
🎉
← Exit Hotspot Mode
Pros
  • Keeps the default map clean and uncluttered
  • Hotspot mode feels like a dedicated experience
  • Own filter chips (emergency/community/infra) feel focused
Cons
  • Emergency hotspots hidden until user taps the button
  • Extra tap to enter/exit hotspot mode

Section 4: 24-Hour History
Hotspots expire but stay accessible for 24 hours. How should expired hotspots be shown?
Option A
Ghost Pins (Faded on Map)

Expired hotspots stay on map at 35% opacity. Tapping one shows "Resolved 2h ago" + full history. Active pins are full opacity, expired look ghostly.

🚨
Active — 3h left
🎉
🚧
Resolved 2h ago
🚔
Active
Expired (24h)
Pros
  • Visually answers "what happened here?"
  • Ghost pins invite exploration/curiosity
  • Simpler to implement — same pins, just opacity
Cons
  • Many expired pins could make map look cluttered
  • Hard to distinguish ghost pins from loading state
Option B
Activity Timeline Panel

Expired hotspots live in a slide-up "Recent Activity" panel below the map. Tapping an item highlights the location on the map. Map stays clean — only active pins shown.

🚨
🎉
↑ Recent Activity (3 expired)
Last 24 Hours
Water Main Break — N 7th St
Infrastructure · Resolved 2h ago · 14 confirmations
Police Activity — Bedford Ave
Police · Resolved 5h ago · Anonymous report
March on Rodney St
Protest · Resolved 8h ago · 27 confirmations
Pros
  • Map stays clean — only live events visible
  • Timeline is scannable like a news feed
  • Better context for each expired event
Cons
  • More taps to see what happened on a specific spot
  • Panel takes vertical space from the map
Your decisions for Section 1–4
1. Pin style: A (categorized icons), B (unified dots), or C (hybrid)
2. Urgency tiers: A (size-based), B (color-intensity), or C (combined size+glow)
3. Map placement: A (always-on layer with filter chip) or B (toggle button)
4. 24-hour history: A (ghost pins) or B (activity timeline)
See hotspot-reporting-flow.html and hotspot-banner-integration.html for decisions 5, 6, and 7.