The civic-tech practitioner’s journal
Practical guides for the people building city apps
Smart City App Hack is a working journal on open city data, hackathons and the civic apps that come out of them — written for developers, civic-tech staff and the municipal teams who have to keep them running.
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Latest guides
How to Apply to a Startup Accelerator (October 2026)
How to apply to a startup accelerator: what to prepare, how reviewers score your answers, interview prep, and what to do after…
How SBIR Funding Works for Software Startups (October 2026)
Learn how SBIR funding works for software startups: eligibility, proposal review, Phase I and II awards, allowable costs, compliance duties, and risks…
How Government Innovation Grants Work: A Practical Guide 2026
Learn how government innovation grants work, from eligibility and merit review to award terms, reporting, and what makes a proposal score well.
How to Incorporate a Startup Step by Step in the U.S. (2026)
Learn how to incorporate a startup step by step in : choose an entity, check the name, file with the state, get…
How to Apply for a Small Business Grant: An Easy 2026 Guide
Learn how to apply for a small business grant in , from checking eligibility and gathering documents to writing the proposal, building…
How to Split Equity in an Early Startup (2026)
Learn how to split equity in an early startup in : score founder contributions, set the split, build an option pool, add…
How to Keep Volunteers Engaged on Long Projects (October 2026)
A practical guide to how to keep volunteers engaged on long projects in : clear roles, visible milestones, a steady update rhythm,…
How Volunteer Tech Groups Organize Projects, Step by Step 2026
Learn how volunteer tech groups organize projects in , from scoping the need and naming owners to boards, meetings, risk, handoffs and…
How Open Source Procurement Works in Government: A 2026 Guide
How open source procurement works in government: needs assessment, vendor selection, licensing, security, and exit planning, explained in our guide.
How to Run a Volunteer Onboarding Process Step by Step (2026)
Learn how to run a volunteer onboarding process in : role clarity, lightweight applications, welcome packs, orientation, safety and retention for civic…
How Code for America Brigades Work (October 2026)
How Code for America Brigades work: volunteer groups building civic tools with city partners. See who joins, how projects move, and what…
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A note from the editors
Smart City App Hack exists because the useful parts of civic technology rarely get written down — the municipal API that finally returns clean data, the hackathon weekend that turns into a pilot, the app a transit team can still maintain a year later. So we write them down, step by step, with the awkward middle left in. Whatever you are building for your city, we hope you leave here knowing the next move.
The Smart City App Hack editors
About the site
A journal for civic builders
This is a reading site about smart city technology and civic app development: open municipal data, hackathons and events, urban mobility, and the apps that residents actually use. It starts with the hands-on how-to work and widens into the wider urban-innovation picture as the questions get bigger.