UW CSE is partnering with online real estate marketplace Zillow to stage a weekend hackathon February 6-8, with participation from the White House, U.S. Department of Commerce and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“Hack Housing: Empowering Smarter Decisions” will encourage the development of creative solutions that harness the power of big data to better meet the needs of first-time homebuyers, senior citizens, and low-income renters. Participants in the hackathon will have access to newly-released government data sets on federal housing programs, the location of accessible apartments, and transit information. In addition, Zillow will make available its data on home values and rents.
Zillow co-founder and serial entrepreneur Rich Barton will open the event by sharing his experiences of using technology to bring power to the people across a variety of industries. After a day and a half of hard work, participants will present their solutions to a judging panel of local tech leaders, entrepreneurs and federal government officials. The winning team will receive a $10,000 prize.
The hackathon will take place at Zillow’s headquarters in downtown Seattle. Find more details, including official rules, and register to participate here.