Tri-City -SLW Hackathon - Crafting Future Cities

Join us for this hybrid event!

Participate in-person and benefit from the networking, or join online.

Please note that, as the event will take place across three locations (Lisbon, Stockholm and Wroclaw), two time zones will apply: Lisbon time (WEST/WET) and Europe/Warsaw time (CEST). All times in the schedule are listed in Europe/Warsaw.  The event in Lisbon will start on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 08:30 (Lisbon time), which corresponds to 09:30 (Europe/Warsaw), and will end on Friday, May 22, 2026 at 19:30 (Lisbon time), corresponding to 20:30 (Europe/Warsaw).

Event Theme

Public Space as Living Infrastructure: Fusing Nature, Technology, and Mobility Justice

What if streets, squares, and transit spaces functioned as living ecosystems rather than sterile, car-dominated corridors?

Instead of roads and parking consuming most of our public land, imagine slow, green, multi-functional streets where trees, soil, water, and digital systems co-manage climate, safety, and social life. Think of bio-based or bio-mimetic materials for pavements and facades, AI-managed green corridors, and modular street furniture that adapts to different uses throughout the day—supporting school commutes, markets, community dinners, and calm nighttime environments.

This theme encourages a creative fusion of mobility planning, ecology, interaction design, and urban technology.

Example Problem Statements  (just for clarification, teams are free to define their own problem statements)

1. We want to solve the problem of roads and parking consuming the majority of public space in cities, prioritising cars over people and ecosystems, so that streets and squares can be redesigned as slow, multi-modal, nature-rich commons where walking, cycling, public transport, play, and community activities come first.
2. We want to solve the problem of fast-moving vehicular traffic making streets unsafe and unpleasant for walking, cycling, and lingering, so that public space can be reconfigured (through design, regulation, and technology) to prioritise human speed, safety, and interaction without sacrificing essential mobility.
3. We want to solve the problem of water runoff and overwhelmed sewer systems during storms for city water management authorities so that streets, plazas, and parking areas can intelligently absorb, filter, store, and reuse water like a natural watershed—using permeable surfaces, green infrastructure, and sensor-driven management.

Cross-Cutting Design Principles

• Across all themes, we invite solutions that:
• Redistribute power and space from private vehicles and private interests to collective use.
• Slow down the city to enable human connection, safety, and care.
• Layer multiple functions in the same space (mobility + nature + gathering + play + data experience).
• Centre marginalised voices in design, prototyping, and decision-making.
• Make health, equity, and environmental outcomes measurable through before/after assessments.
• Create adaptable and temporary interventions that respond to changing needs across days, seasons, and crises.
• Challenge car-centric and consumption-centric norms through demonstrations and alternative visions.