Smart City Hackathon Lahore

Overview

The Smart City Hackathon Lahore 2026, provided by Code for Pakistan, invites students, developers, designers, entrepreneurs, researchers, urban innovators, and creative problem-solvers to address pressing urban challenges. The hackathon aims to foster practical solutions that leverage technology, data, creativity, and innovation to improve cities for everyone. It provides a platform to turn ideas into action, addressing real-world problems faced by urban centers. Participants can work individually or in teams to develop solutions aligned with specific challenge themes. These themes include 'Clean City,' focusing on waste management, pollution reduction, and air quality; 'City Intelligence,' which involves using data and AI for smarter planning and citizen information; and 'Public Preparedness Ahead of the Climate Crisis,' concentrating on communication and behavior-change solutions for climate-related challenges. The hackathon emphasizes creating tangible outputs such as software, hardware, data tools, communication campaigns, and creative media. Beyond building solutions, participants will have opportunities to learn from mentors, expand their portfolios, collaborate across disciplines, and connect with stakeholders in technology, government, and urban innovation. The event also offers a chance to compete for cash prizes and gain recognition for innovative ideas. Submissions require a working prototype or demonstration, a detailed project description explaining the problem, solution, and impact, and a clear explanation of the technology or innovation component. Additionally, participants must submit a demo video, a presentation deck, and relevant source files or repository links, ensuring comprehensive documentation of their proposed solutions.

What to build

Participants are encouraged to build solutions under one of three challenge themes: Clean City (waste management, pollution reduction, air quality), City Intelligence (software, AI, maps, data tools for urban insights and planning), or Public Preparedness Ahead of the Climate Crisis (communication and behavior-change solutions for climate challenges like heatwaves, floods, smog). Solutions can include software, hardware, data-driven applications, creative outputs like short films, documentaries, public awareness campaigns, or other digital content.

Prizes

Key dates

• Deadline2026-09-19T23:45:00+05:00

Eligibility

Participants must be above the legal age of majority in their country of residence. Specific countries/territories may be included or excluded, and full rules should be reviewed for details.

How to enter

1. Join the hackathon through the provided Devpost link.

Submission requirements

• Working Prototype or Demonstration: A functional prototype, proof of concept, demonstration, creative output, or other tangible representation of the proposed solution.
• Project Description: A clear explanation covering the problem addressed, its importance, how the solution works, who benefits, and its potential impact and scalability.
• Technology / Innovation Component: A clear explanation of the technology, data, creative approach, or innovation used and its appropriateness for the chosen challenge. For technology-based solutions, this may include AI, software, GIS, open data, sensors, or other emerging technologies. For creative solutions, explain the communication, storytelling, or behavior-change approach.
• Demo Video: A video of up to 3 minutes demonstrating or presenting the problem, solution, key features/outputs, how it works/engages users, and potential impact.
• Presentation Deck: A short pitch deck summarizing the problem, solution, innovation, impact, and future roadmap.
• Source Files / Repository: For technology-based projects, a GitHub or other repository link containing source code. For creative projects, links or files for submitted media and supporting materials.

Judging criteria

• Problem relevance
• Civic impact
• Innovation
• Technical execution
• User experience
• Scalability
• Team's ability to clearly communicate their solution