Pitching a bigger CityCamp tent

A message from CityCamp co-founder Luke Fretwell:

CityCamp is a global movement of community-focused events that foster civic collaboration and innovation, bringing people together to improve their communities.

The first CityCamp was organized by Kevin Curry and Jen Pahlka and held January 23-24, 2010, in Chicago, Illinois. Afterward, Kevin and I developed it as an open source brand so that anyone could host events anywhere. Since then, self-organized CityCamp events have taken place worldwide across 8 countries and 41 cities.

Rebooting CityCamp href="#rebooting-citycamp"

For years after its heyday, CityCamp lay dormant, a victim of refocused attention, competing obligations, and no real effort to fund it sustainably.

Early in 2025, feeling the need for more local, in-person civic collaboration, I was inspired to bring CityCamp back. It was a quiet effort with little fanfare, but nearly 10 cities ultimately organized events. The Alliance of Civic Technologists played a key role, coordinating local organizations to lead them.

Passing the CityCamp baton href="#passing-the-citycamp-baton"

I feel strongly that CityCamp should be a supported, annual event with someone ensuring it’s properly maintained. After the reboot proved relatively successful, I decided it was time to hand it to people we trust to do exactly that.

ACT and its leaders have shown they can. After several conversations with its leadership, I agreed for them to take over and help grow CityCamp into the movement it was during its heyday. I’ve worked with them to transition operations and will continue to support them as needed.

I’m grateful ACT is taking responsibility for CityCamp, and excited to watch it grow.

Start or join a CityCamp where you live.