CityCamp Gainesville Hack Day Sunday, September 20, 2026 | 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM | Reitz Union, Room G325 | University of Florida

CityCamp Gainesville is a community unconference where residents, students, city staff, and nonprofit leaders come together to work on local problems. Last year's CityCamp produced conversations on urban heat, housing, food access, and much more; this year we're adding a hackathon so those conversations turn into working software and hardware! 

This is an official MLH Hack Day hosted by Florida Community Innovation, in partnership with NASA!

Requirements

What to Build

Pick one of the three tracks and build something that addresses a real Gainesville problem. You may use one of our provided problem briefs or propose your own within a track. Six hours is not a lot of time, so scope accordingly! Don't overbuild. 

What to Submit

Your project must include an artifact someone can interact with. That means of: 

- A working application, script, or tool

- A clickable prototype, for example Figma

- A hardware prototype

- A data analysis with a reproducible notebook, map, or visualization

Submit by 4:30 PM on Sunday, September 20. 

1. Project Name

2. Track (NASA / GeoEmerge, Gainesville Community Fridge, general civic tech)

3. Which problem brief you addressed, or a description of the problem if you proposed your own

4. Description: At least one paragraph covering what you built, who it helps, and how it works

5. Repository or Project Link (Github, Figma, etc)

6. Team members listed on the submission

Demo video is optional. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$900 in prizes
Best in NASA & Environmental Data
$300 in cash
1 winner

Best in Community Fridge
$300 in cash
1 winner

Best in Civic Tech
$300 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Caroline Nickerson

Caroline Nickerson
Executive Director, FCI

Judging Criteria

  • Problem and impact
    Do you understand the real problem, and would this actually help people in Gainesville?
  • Execution
    Does it work, and is what you built solid for the time available?
  • Design and usability
    Would someone actually use this?
  • Clarity
    Can you explain what you built and why it matters?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

Hackathon sponsors

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