Fallback - Urban Income Resilience Network

Inspiration

In future cities, one of the biggest threats is economic fragility — especially for gig workers, freelancers, and everyday citizens whose jobs are rapidly being displaced by AI and automation. Most people have no safety net, and when income stops, everything collapses: housing, food access, mental health, and stability. We were inspired to create a system that automatically detects financial hardship and provides an instant, dignified response — not months later through bureaucracy. Just like airbags protect you in a car crash, we want Fallback to protect you in a life crash.

What it does

Fallback is a real-time income resilience system for smart cities. It automatically: Detects when someone’s income drops (simulated for now) Provides an instant emergency action plan, including: Micro-cash support Food & shelter options Part-time jobs or gigs in your area Upskilling resources Mental health links

Helps people stabilize and start recovering — without judgment, paperwork, or delay

How we built it

Frontend: A lightweight HTML/JS interface that simulates a citizen requesting help Backend: A FastAPI server that detects income drop (simulated) and returns a structured fallback plan Mock Data: Simulated job listings, local aid, and online course recommendations A.I. API integrations (optional extension): Can be used to generate highly personalized fallback plans in real-time Modular design allows future integration with real APIs (Plaid, job boards, city wallets, etc.)

Challenges we ran into

Designing a system that balances speed, privacy, and trust Making the fallback plan feel genuinely helpful, not robotic or generic Simulating real-world data for jobs, aid centers, and course recommendations in a believable way Staying focused — we realized quickly how massive this concept could grow

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Created a complete, testable MVP in under 48 hours Designed a system that cities, NGOs, or even DAOs could adopt immediately Made tech feel human — our app doesn't just automate; it comforts, connects, and guides

What we learned

Income insecurity isn't just an economic issue, it's a civic infrastructure issue

You can prototype a life-saving civic tech tool using just a few APIs and smart design thinking

What's next for Fallback - Urban Income Resilience Network

Integrate AI to create deeply personalized action plans Use Plaid or gig platform APIs to detect income drops in real-time Add a city wallet or NGO-funded micro-relief wallet Expand the system into a modular plug-in for cities — where any smart city can adopt it for their citizens Add community features where people can help each other via surplus time, food, or micro-donations Partner with job boards, NGOs, or upskilling platforms to offer real services instantly

Built With

• html
• javascript
• python
• tailwind
• uvicorn