by: Alexa Turzian
The Green Map System was developed in 1995, but has just recently started to
sprout as a booming business. Spreading to over 550 cities and 54 countries
worldwide it’s hard not to recognize the significant impact this green movement
has had on the world. So what is it? The Green Map System allows anyone from
students to reputable political figures to get involved with their communities
and map green living, nature and social or culture resources. These maps are
quite useful as they provide a guide for tourists to seek out green sites and
projects in the cities, help build sustainable communities, bring locals together,
and so much more. These maps may also act as comprehensive inventories for
environmental policy.
I wanted to write my blog about green maps, not only because many people are
unaware of them, but also because I feel they could be a very useful tool for
decision-making now and especially into the future as cities focus more on
sustainable development. The Green Mapping System shines a light on the
global green movement, providing models for all others to follow.
Take a look at the website and let me know what you think. Can these maps act
as a tool to make environmental policy decisions into the future? Can anything
change the environmental catastrophe we are running straight into? Hopes are
that each voice and map created will slowly spread awareness and at best begin
to convince people worldwide that we need to respect the world we live in for
every bit of dirt it’s worth.
*http://www.greenmap.org/*
8 comments:
I feel like this is a good idea because it brings forth many different creative green ideas that people have. This could be inspiration for others to jump on the green movement within their everyday lives. Since the maps come from all around the world, it helps spread new ideas from different places so we can apply them in multiple places. This site brings small business ideas from many sources so they can start up in many locations. This may also act as a tool for business's and people to interact and find sustainable products and services. I tried looking around the site and its a little unclear at first, but once you explore a little more it makes some sense. I think more interactive technology and pictures would make the site more user friendly, so more people can get into the idea. Im not sure if this is the exact solution to our environmental problems, but at least everyone on the site has the same goals in mind and more and more people are becoming informed on the ways in which to live a more sustainable life.
I really like the idea of businesses having easy access to finding sustainable resources or good places to start a sustainable company. The Green Map System is definitely worth looking at and hopefully it will become more widely known so that others can jump on the bandwagon and spread awareness.
I like the idea, though in application it seems like a green-washed yellow pages.
Further, reading through their FAQs I found that many maps have toxic waste sites removed "For a variety of reasons, including concerns about frightening younger children, some educators choose not to map environmental problems (or other sources of blight or injustice). Instead, they focus on the positive sites and other hopeful signs of sustainability and growth in the community." Children should be afraid of toxic waste and env injustice!
This resource does come across as a "green-washed yellow pages" to me. Their seems to be an emphasis businesses and transit that promote this green movement. I think this could be very beneficial to the consumer who highly values supporting this industry. By investing your money towards a green business you in part contribute to their success and in turn that of the environment.
This could also be helpful for those who are interested in eco-tourism. Many people are interested in "green" ways to travel and want to have as little impact as possible when they are visiting. Providing information on local transportation and local places to eat is at least a start. And, I agree that the site could be a little more useful. It is a bit confusing at first.
Thanks to Alexa and all commenters, we are happy to see this blog on our work.
The question of how to highlight toxics and EJ sites always leads to a great discussion.
Many youth projects are focused on tough issues, and have made a very important difference in their community. If you visit the Youth Green Maps page (under GreenMap.org/youth) you can see plenty of good examples. There are short vignettes here or you might like the EJ video (#2 on the media resources page in that section) and our Impacts book (GreenMap.org/impacts) has examples as well).
And it's not so much that the toxic sites were removed, rather, on some Green Maps they are shown as action items and places to envision differently than they are right now. This often decided by the youth Mapmakers (rather than a teacher) involved, as they want to energize a response by their peers, adults and decision-makers, and sometimes they decide the best way to do that is frame challenges as opportunities. Communication and organizing for a sustainable community are key skills gained.
There are hundreds of Green Maps made by adults, as well, and the new social mapping platform we launched in June, the Open Green Map, makes it easy to engage the community in assessing, enhancing, sharing and comparing each site (very helpful for those seeking models to replicate in new places as well as ecotourists). I'm pointing that out to encourage readers here to get involved in the movement!
It's not just business and mobility sites you can chart. Green Map Icons are used by all Green Map projects - there are 170 symbols including a wide range of green living, nature, social and cultural resources. Roughly 15% deal with negatives. You can download the poster at GreenMap.org/icons.
Thank you again for highlighting our non-profit's ongoing work and ever-growing movement. We welcome new Mapmakers and new supporters, anytime!
ya, it is a great ideaas.
Green Map helps local citizens understand their community’s interdependent environmental, social and economic systems. Green Maps provide residents, newcomers and visitors a guide to local green options, they can also bring attention to the negative sites that challenge community well-being.
I think the concept behind these maps is both needed and amazing. My only concern is that the website layout right now deters casual browsing. Furthermore their information for a lot of maps they supposedly have (ex. Boulder, CO) is not complete. To have a complete resource available to policy and companies would be indispensable however I think green-maps needs to partner with a larger scientific group to really flesh out its information.
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