The one-sentence version
Free, practical AI help for Linwood neighbors, plus clinics for stuck civic problems.
Why it exists
AI is arriving in neighborhoods whether anyone plans for it or not. It shows up as scams aimed at seniors, as automated systems that make decisions about housing and benefits, as confident chatbots that invent city code sections. The people most affected usually have the least say and the least training.
The same tools can also help: turning a 300-page budget into something a block club can read, or helping a tenant figure out which city office actually handles their problem.
NeighborhoodOS is a way to get the help without the harm.
What it is today
1. Practical AI help (Learn)
Three free sessions at LAMP: how chatbots work, why they make things up, the scams aimed at neighbors, what never to type in, and how to check an answer. Participants are paid for their time. See Program Design.
2. Clinics for stuck civic problems (Solve)
Bring something stuck: a streetlight out for months, a zoning case, a promise made at a council meeting that nobody followed up on. Leave with a one-page brief: who has the power to fix it, what public evidence exists, and the smallest next step with a name on it. Clinics build on what Kansas City Documenters surface from public meetings.
3. A small tool, only if earned (Build)
If a clinic surfaces a clear, safe need, neighbors sketch and test a small tool. Paper first.
That's it. No custom software is needed for any of it.
What it might become
Neighborhood memory, community governance tools, and local AI hardware are on a separate page: Later, if residents want it. None of it starts unless residents ask for it.
Principles
- Help first. Useful to one neighbor this week beats a platform next year.
- The software doesn't swing the hammer. People do. Tools suggest, organize, and draft. Humans decide and act.
- Partner, don't rebuild. Use the library, Documenters, and open curricula that already exist. See Partners.
- Pay people for their time. Participants and peer helpers get stipends.
- Show the receipts. Every claim links to a public source, or says clearly that it can't.
- Hold nothing about residents. See Threat Model and Safety Doctrine.
What it is not
- Not a smart-city platform or a replacement for 311.
- Not legal advice, case management, or a benefits eligibility system.
- Not a people database. It never builds profiles of residents.
- Not a source of AI summaries of public meetings.
- Not a product. It is an open program anyone can run.
Names
- NeighborhoodOS: the overall program and the open project.
- Linwood pilot: the first place it runs (Linwood, Kansas City, MO).
- WaldoNet: an early prototype name. Historical only.
- Commonweave: a separate sibling project (a directory of commons-aligned organizations). Optional, not required.