Accessible City Hackathon Application: OCADU + Sidewalk Labs
Update September 14, 2018: The Hackathon Project Descriptions are now available.
Throughout August and September, Sidewalk Labs partnered with the Inclusive Design Research Centre at OCAD University to facilitate three co-design sessions to inform our accessibility principles and planning work. This was a fantastic opportunity to brainstorm, workshop and co-create ideas for potential accessible city systems with people who identify as part of the accessibility community in Toronto.
Now, we're continuing the work with a hackathon to start building prototypes and testing out how some of these ideas might work!
WHEN: Friday, September 21, 2018, 9am-7pm
WHERE: 307 Lakeshore Blvd E, Toronto, ON M5A 1C1, Canada https://goo.gl/maps/y4W7ruWqGmE2
WHAT: Around 10 implementable ideas that came out of the co-design sessions will each be synthesized into one-page design challenges, which list the required features and intended use cases for the project. Each hackathon team (consisting of a design/product resource, two engineers/makers, and at least one person from the accessibility community) will have the whole day to build a prototype that fits the design challenge requirements.
PRIZES: Successful projects will have the opportunity to be displayed at 307 during the public Open Sidewalk on the Accessible City on Saturday, September 22.
In addition, team members of the project voted most impactful by all hackathon participants will receive a gift card to Hawthorne Food & Drink, a Toronto social enterprise restaurant that employs people experiencing barriers to employment. The restaurant is in Downtown Toronto and is wheelchair accessible.
WHO: We're looking for engineers, product designers, and folks with lived experience in accessibility and inclusive design to spend a day with the Sidewalk engineering team and our OCADU partners to build these prototypes!
HOW MANY: We have 50 spots available, and we'll try to get a good balance of different skill sets and backgrounds. Apply using this form and we'll follow up to let you know whether we can offer you a spot.