“because change doesn’t wait for voting age.”
Hi - I'm Arushi Nath, a high school student in Toronto. When I lost access to my school bus in Grade 8 and started taking transit, I noticed what made my new commute unsafe and unpleasant: missing crosswalks, broken walk signals, and overflowing garbage. So I used what I love - open data and algorithms - to help fix them.
These are 18 ways I tried to improve my city before turning 18.
Better My City is how I take on problems I know little about: learn how the system works, find the open data, and build what's missing - this time at street level. It's the same method I use for planetary defense - peer-reviewed research tracking near-Earth asteroids at MonitorMyPlanet.
This was the experiment: 18 different ways a student can act on a city problem - from filing a 311 report to speaking at City Hall - and I tried every one of them. Each card explains the method and links to what I actually did and what came of it.
Use 311 phone lines or city apps to report local issues like potholes, broken lights, or safety hazards, helping your city respond faster.
See what I did →Send thoughtful letters or emails to city departments about problems and possible solutions in your community.
See what I did →Attend public meetings, contribute to surveys, and share feedback on city projects to make sure youth voices are heard in urban planning.
See what I did →Learn how government works from the inside by assisting elected officials and attending legislative sessions.
See what I did →Connect with people who share your interests. Volunteer and collaborate on meaningful community projects and initiatives.
See what I did →Work with other young people and city officials to influence decisions and design youth-friendly policies.
See what I did →Collaborate with youth, developers, and designers to build innovative tech solutions for civic challenges.
See what I did →Publish opinion pieces to raise awareness, challenge policies, and contribute youth perspectives.
See what I did →Use interviews and articles to share your message, inspire others, and help shape public conversations.
See what I did →Gather signatures for causes you care about and present them to decision-makers.
See what I did →Take part in peaceful demonstrations to raise awareness and demand action on local or global issues.
See what I did →Speak directly to city leaders. Share your ideas, give feedback on policies, and advocate for community issues.
See what I did →Arrange meetings or send messages to elected officials to discuss youth issues and share solutions.
See what I did →Volunteer or support campaigns for ethical and inclusive candidates. Help raise voter awareness about key civic issues.
See what I did →Collect, analyze, and share data about your community to promote transparency, sustainability, and innovation.
See what I did →Use open data and artificial intelligence to analyze civic challenges and propose new solutions.
See what I did →Create short documentaries or videos to highlight community issues and inspire positive change.
See what I did →Showcase innovations that connect science with society, like clean energy or sustainable design.
See what I did →🚀 Better My City App
A free Android app that turns a student's photo of a civic issue into a structured 311 municipal service report in under 60 seconds.
75+ Reports Submitted
You could file the next one!
Download for Android🚀 Available to Toronto Students!
🏙️ Inside the App
50+ issues fixed using the 18 civic participation methods above. Here are some of them, with before-and-after photos.
Location: College Street & Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Way used: Report at 311 Toronto + Fill Form + Write to City Staff / Councillor
Evidence: [Complaint to 311 Toronto]
Location: Lansdowne Ave & Seaforth Ave (near Parkdale P.S.), Toronto
Way used: Report to 311 Toronto
Evidence: [Complaint to 311 Toronto]
Location: Dufferin Street and Bathurst Street, Toronto
My role: I deputed at City Hall and volunteered with transit-advocacy groups calling for RapidTO priority lanes; the City later approved and rolled them out.
Evidence: [My deputation at City Hall]
Location: College Street and Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Way used: Write to 311 Toronto + follow-up photos
Evidence : [Complaint to 311 Toronto]
Location: College Street and Palmerston Avenue, Toronto
Way used: Write to City Staff + Complaint to 311 Toronto
Evidence : [Complaint to 311 Toronto]
Location: Albert Crosland Park, Parkdale, Toronto
Way used: Write to City Staff + Follow ups
2nd Place - City of Toronto Open Data Awards 2025–2026
Better My City won 2nd Place in the Public Projects category for merging AI with open datasets and students' mobile usage patterns to automate and enhance 311 reporting. Read more →
Youth Leader Award 2026 - Province of Ontario
Presented by Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Chris Glover (Spadina–Fort York) for civic leadership and building Better My City App. Read more →
Public Spaces Champion (MVP) - Ward 10, Toronto
Recognized as a Public Spaces Champion by Councillor Ausma Malik for work to make streets and shared public spaces safer. Read more →
When I'm not in class, you'll find me listening to pop music, rock climbing, or monitoring near-Earth asteroids for planetary defense.
I build algorithms to characterize asteroids using open data, telescopes, and open networks. That research is published in peer-reviewed journals - Acta Astronautica, the Minor Planet Bulletin, and the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - all as sole author. It earned me the Best Project Award at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in 2022 and 2023, in Grades 7 and 8 - the first back-to-back winner in 33 years, and the youngest - and the chance to represent Canada at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) 2023, where I won Second Prize.
Better My City brings that same approach down to street level: break the problem into solvable pieces, learn how the system works, find the open data, and build what's missing.
You can use open data to be a citizen scientist for planetary defense, or simply a good citizen making your city better - all before you're old enough to vote.
Planetary defense: MonitorMyPlanet.com · Tracking Artemis II from home: MonitorMyMoon.com · Full science portfolio: HotPopRobot.com
Email: hello@bettermycity.com
What's new: Better My City App launched - free for Android. Get the app →
2nd Place - City of Toronto Open Data Awards 2025–2026. Read more →