Urban Hackathon – Alternative Information Based and Participatory Approach to Urban Development

AbstractAlthough hackathon is generally known and used event-format in the world of software engineering, it has in recent years also been used in other fields, as i.e. participatory urbanism, in US often referred to as civic hackathon. Hackathon in general is an event at which problems are solved in a limited time frame with intense participant collaboration. The focus of a hackathon is usually predefined; however creativity in problem solving is at the forefront of all activities. The paper will describe the specifics of urban hackathon, a derivative form of civic hackathon, which uses similar approach, harnessing the potential of information technologies and stakeholders involvement in the field of urban development and urban renewal. Despite vast amount of information and unprecedented potentials of existing technologies, they are not being used to full potential in the practise of urban development. At the same time, the importance of horizontal integration between different professions, inclusion of stakeholders, communities and researchers is increasingly becoming the central theme in managing the contemporary urban environment.Through the analysis of existing literature and web sources the paper presents hackathons dealing with urban issues worldwide and their characteristics. Furthermore, thorough the case-study analysis of tools, processes and experiences of three urban hackathons held in Maribor/Slovenia in 2015 as a part of the Actors of urban change program (Living city project), the paper describes the impacts of this approach on public discourse and actions taken in solving the urban renewal problems in the city of Maribor