HotPopRobot

Arushi Nath

The PROGRAM: Toronto Hackathon took place on June 20, 2025, at Toronto City Hall (Committee Room 2), on the eve of the inaugural Toronto Tech Week. Organized in collaboration with the City of Toronto Open Data team, the hackathon challenged participants to help make Toronto the world’s most programmable city. It was open to designers, developers, and anyone eager to build applications using Toronto’s open data infrastructure to inform, connect, and empower communities in new ways.

There was an enthusiastic turnout with over 60 participants! The event kicked off with organizers Tarun Sachdeva and Sergiy Dybskiy delivering land acknowledgments, welcoming attendees, and speaking about the upcoming events for Toronto Tech Week as well as the monthly Civic Tech Toronto meetups they host. They acknowledged the support of city staff, generous sponsors, and the three judges of the hackathon.

The rules of the event were simple: each team could build any project as long as it used open data collected by the City of Toronto. After the introductions, team formation began. While some people arrived with teammates, others pitched ideas on the spot and quickly formed groups. In total, 29 teams were ready to build.

The Idea Behind Better My City

I have always believed that technology can be a powerful force for public good. That belief—combined with my passion for Artificial Intelligence and big data—inspired me to create a project focused on a challenge I face every day: unsafe commutes for school youths like me.

Thousands of students across Toronto walk, bike, or take transit to school. Along the way, we encounter real hazards—faded crosswalks, broken pedestrian signals, overflowing trash bins, blocked sidewalks, and more. These are not minor inconveniences; they’re safety risks that affect people of all ages and abilities and diminish the quality of life in our public spaces.

Too often, these problems are overlooked. We assume someone else will report them. But what if there was an easy, empowering way to document and report these issues—using a tool most of us already carry in our pockets?

That question led to the creation of Better My City.

How Better My City Works

Better My City is an app powered by AI and open data. Users take a photo of a civic issue—such as a blocked sidewalk or a malfunctioning traffic signal—and the app uses image recognition to identify the problem. It extracts the location and timestamp from the photo’s metadata, then cross-references the issue with historical trends from the 311 Service Requests – Customer Initiated dataset on Toronto’s Open Data portal.

For example, a photo of a trash can might match patterns of overflowing garbage in that neighborhood, while a crosswalk might trigger a predicted complaint about faded paint. The app then drafts a suggested complaint, which the user can review and send—currently via Twitter to @311Toronto.

It’s like having a personal assistant that transforms citizen observations into actionable civic reports. And the best part? It already works. A trial version of the app, tested by friends in different neighborhoods, successfully reported issues that have since been fixed—walk signals were restored, crosswalks were repainted, and garbage was removed. These small but important wins show the power of real-time citizen engagement.

The Hackathon Experience

After several hours of building—with support from the City of Toronto Open Data team and helpful conversations with fellow participants—it was time for the presentations. Each team had three minutes to present their project to the panel of judges.

I was proud to present Better My City, sharing why I built it, how it works, the open data that powers it, and the real-world impact it’s already had. I even gave a quick live demo to show how a simple photo could trigger a city complaint in seconds.

What stood out most during the hackathon was the incredible variety of thoughtful and creative solutions presented by other participants. The room was full of energy, innovation, and purpose. It was clear to me that open data isn’t just a resource—it’s a launchpad for building better communities.

In a tech world that often emphasizes profit-driven startups, this event reminded me that some of the most meaningful innovation comes from building tools that benefit everyone.

Winning and What’s Next

When the winners were announced, I was thrilled to hear Better My City named the First Prize Winner. It was a moment of recognition not just for the work I put in, but for the idea that youth-led civic tech can have real and lasting impact.

The win came with a $500 prize, which will go toward further developing and refining the idea. Even more exciting, as the winner, I would have an opportunity to present the project at the next AI Tinkerers event, where I hope to connect with fellow innovators, gather feedback, and explore future collaborations.

Final Thoughts

I’m incredibly grateful to the organizers, the City of Toronto Open Data team, the judges, and all the participants for creating such an energizing and welcoming event. The PROGRAM: Toronto Hackathon showed me what’s possible when we come together to build solutions that put people first.

Cities are a shared responsibility. We can choose to ignore problems—or we can be part of the solution. For me, Better My City is a small but meaningful step in choosing action, and I hope it inspires others to do the same.