Open source for the world around you
Drop a pin where you stand to flag a problem, share an idea, coordinate a community event, or send thanks to your neighborhood. Every pin lives on a real-world map and can be voted on, commented on, forked, and improved by anyone. Just like code.
Accounts are created in the mobile app. The web is a companion view, not the official OpenWorld experience.
We think the world gets better when fixing it is as easy as opening an app.
OpenWorld is an overlay over the real world where anyone can propose improvements to the infrastructure around them. Like the concept of git and GitHub, but for the physical world. The pothole that keeps coming back. The intersection that needs a smart stop sign. The empty lot that should be a park. The trail someone is quietly maintaining and doesn't get credit for.
See a problem? Flag it. Have a better idea? Fork it. Want to refine something without replacing it? Open a proposal, like a pull request for the real world.
People are good. Action compounds. Agency over guilt.
Your location is only used when you place a pin. We never share it with anyone.
The idea came on a walk through an intersection. I imagined a stop sign that turned its face green when it sensed no pedestrians or cars, so you could drive through without stopping. Slightly silly, and exactly the right kind of silly. Small enough to picture. Big enough to imply a whole platform behind it.
One citizen designs the blueprint. A thousand cities install it. That's the open-source-the-world part.
Four pin types, each built for a different kind of moment
Flag something that needs fixing. Potholes, broken streetlights, hazards. Your neighbors see it, vote on it, and help it get attention.
Propose an improvement. Bike lanes, community gardens, better crosswalks. Others can upvote it, fork it with their own twist, or propose changes.
Civic action is often a moment, not a state. A beach cleanup at 9 AM Saturday. A town hall on the 14th. A march. Live countdown, then the pin retires.
The world is more than its broken parts. The volunteer-run library. The trail someone maintains. The contractor who actually fixed the intersection well. Naming what works shifts the gravity of the whole platform.
Pins are placed within ~25 meters of where you're standing, on a shared grid
Walk within 200 meters of what you want to pin. If you can see it, you can pin it.
Pick a type, snap to the grid, and add photos, tags, a description, or a drawing.
Your community votes, comments, forks ideas, and proposes improvements. Every change is tracked with full version history.
The rails for real action already exist. OpenWorld links out to them, instead of rebuilding them.
GoFundMe, Open Collective, and other funding platforms for the money.
Government and representative contact pages for the official channels.
Petition platforms for showing how many people want a thing.
Sign-up sheets and event pages for the people who will show up.
Existing neighborhood groups and nonprofits for the on-the-ground work.
Drop a link from your pin to wherever the next step actually lives.
The bridge from proposal to reality is humans taking action. OpenWorld doesn't replace that bridge, it makes it shorter.
The tools that make collaboration actually work
Don't like someone's idea? Fork it and suggest your own version at the same spot or at your current location.
Want to refine a pin without replacing it? Open a proposal. Full version history with diffs tracks every edit.
A reusable design (a smart stop sign, a parklet, a modular bus shelter) that anyone can reference from their own pin. Design once. Apply across a thousand cities. The git-repo to a pin's issue.
Sketch out your vision right in the app. Drawings render inline on the pin so everyone can see what you mean.
Get notified when someone comments, votes, forks, or @mentions you. Stay in the loop on what matters.
Browse all pins with sort, type, tag, and region filters. Search by title or explore by area.
Earn ranks from Newcomer to Master Civic Mind based on upvotes you receive. Build your reputation over time.
Community reporting and content flags keep things constructive. We take safety seriously.
We use your location only when you're placing a pin, and never share it with anyone