Porto turns to young people for creative urban solutions

Hackathon Porto Circular will give young people the opportunity to shape the future of the city

It should be no secret that local authorities in the Portuguese city of Porto harbour grand ambitions for its future. Among them is the dream of achieving and creating a truly circular economy within the urban area.

To achieve its goals, Porto’s local government has been employing a wide range of tactics and strategies and is constantly on the lookout for new input and new ideas on how it can transform the city’s outlook.

And who would you ask for future-based solutions? The answer seems obvious to local authorities – young people, as they are the ones who are most concerned with how the city will look like for the next generation.

Presenting the Hackathon Porto Circular

The Hackathon Porto Circular will be held in February 2020 and will bring together tech-savvy young people who are eager to contribute to city planning. To goal is for them to employ their creative energies and find circular economy solutions to typical urban problems.

During the event, participants will be tasked with finding sustainable solutions to circular challenges that have been envisioned within Porto’s circular economy roadmap. Over the course of the Hackathon, young people are set to develop concrete proposals, ideas, plans and products that will help the city along with its circular transition.

The Hackathon will not only promote awareness and education in the field of circular economy but will also provide officials with valuable and much-needed advice, solutions and blueprints that can be used in the future.

To make participation in the Hackathon more enticing, the Municipality of Porto is also offering a 1,500-euro prize to the best team that takes part in the event.

The event itself is organized jointly the local authorities the sustainability company 3Drivers. It is also sponsored by the Environmental Fund through the “Re-Educate: Educating for a Circular Economy” programme.