A new urban environment app is being piloted in Tartu as part of the Urban Tech project

Bulgarian startup Make18 is developing an app called CoTown that makes it easy to engage people in improving the urban environment and to gather opinions and proposals for ways to do it. The pilot project for the app is being run in Tartu, and people from Tartu are being invited to test the app until 31 December.

The Urban Tech project led by Tehnopol identified a set of challenges last year and started seeking solutions for them this year. Make18 took on the task of developing a platform for receiving suggestions for ways of improving the urban environment at the request of Tartu.

Jaanus Tamm, the Project Manager at Tartu City Government, said that the app has great potential. “A solution like this could be a logical part of how changes are made to the urban environment in the future. The vision that people have for their town from different perspectives can help in bringing solutions to the urban space and give a better idea of how residents would like to see their home town”, he explained.

The app can be tested and feedback given at: https://cotown.eu/app/Tartu

CEO of Make18 Maksim Nedkov explained that the city of Tartu wanted to find a simple smart solution that could involve both residents and experts in suggesting ways of improving the urban environment. “Our team created the CoTown app as an online tool that people can use to create a collage of photographs to visualise their ideas for how they would like to see the urban space of their town. It is sometimes better to communicate visually, using pictures, rather than in writing”, he said.

He added that there had not previously been an app like this that allows pictures to be used in urban planning and that involves the residents of the town. Nedkov is an architect by training, and urban planning is his great passion. He also likes developing software, and so CoTown was the logical outcome of his interests. CoTown will improve communications between residents and local authorities, and can be used in all towns or cities that want to listen to ideas from their residents.

The CoTown app is being piloted in Tartu and the first tests of it will use two sites in the centre of the city on Küüni and Ülikooli streets. “We plan to start selling the CoTown app to the city planners and city authorities of various cities in early 2024, and the tests in Tartu will give us a lot of valuable feedback”, said Nedkov.

Kristiina Libe, Project Manager at the Tehnopol Science and Business Park and mentor to Make18, commented that the smart city does not just mean smart road signs, infrastructure and buildings, but it should also support the social well-being of its residents and give them the chance to contribute to the development of their town. “The CoTown app is a platform that residents can use to put forward their own ideas and thoughts about how the urban space could be planned better. It can easily be used to involve different age groups and get a picture of what people want to see in their home town”, she said.