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What do Jane Goodall, Jane Jacobs, Majora Carter, Paul Hawken and our director, Wendy Brawer, have in common?
All of them were selected and honorably mentioned by the Post-Growth Institute's (En)Rich List!
What is this all about? "The (En)Rich List celebrates a wealth of inspirational individuals. Collectively, the people highlighted throughout this website present a rich tapestry that points to globally prosperous and sustainable futures."
It's a terrific honor to be included on this list, and a testament to all the people working with Wendy, as well as the Green Mapmakers. Both the full list of winners and honorable mentions is linked below.
We encourage you to read the article (linked below) about our work by the P2P Foundation, too. It's good to be the 'project of the day'!
We have an another announcement to make in March, so will keep this report brief. Thank you to all our donors - your support means so much to us!
Links:
The date was December 13, 1991. I was in a room full of environmental activists in New York City. The United Nations Earth Summit ‘prepcom’ was soon to come, where Agenda 21 would be negotiated prior to the main UN event in Rio. We were planning talks and tours for hundreds of governmental, sustainability and social justice participants who would soon arrive, some to stay a month.
I thought about these individuals coming from all over the world, and wondered, would they see the signs of progress that I was noticing: Community gardens, farmers markets, bike paths, solar sites and more? I considered their many languages and cultures, and decided I should make a map of these and other hopeful features.
Why? Maps are universally understandable and resource efficient. Most importantly, they share a world view as they guide people to new experiences. Maps ‘work’ for both residents and visitors and, as I later learned, help people more quickly grasp a community’s complexities.
Later that day, I came up with a name for a folding map that would show the ‘green side’ of the Big Apple, the Green Apple Map. That night, thanks to a curator at Municipal Art Society’s Urban Center Gallery, support for 10,000 copies was in hand!
The first Green Map was on its way! Immediately, I called a group of eco-designers and activists, and together we breathed life into this concept. We sprang into research and design and a few weeks later, the map ready for printing. We held a launch event on the first day of Spring 1992. It brought together 250 international Earth Summiteers plus a wide range of local folks. In addition to sharing the original Green Map, we hosted a green design tour that highlighted 17 of the 145 sites on the map, with speakers and excitement every step of the way.
I knew Green Map was a good idea from the original moment of inspiration. Immediately, I could see how teamwork would lead to richer outcomes. Together, we realized the importance of bringing people together to share knowledge and co-create a new, more sustainable vision of home. We fanned the sparks that flew from the original edition, gathering steam to initiate the global movement, all with the involvement of many terrific people.
Today, 25 years after my ‘eureka moment’, I’m amazed at all we have accomplished, yet know we’ve only just begun. With your help, Green Map System will inspire hundreds more communities and thousands more people to address profound community and climate changes and take action today.
Our new “open” operating system will make its debut in a few weeks. Please pitch in today to help our new platform reach its full potential!
Links:
Be safe this Hurricane Season - be ready, too!
As you may know, generating action to respond to climate change is among the many things Green Map System does. Now, nearly four years since Superstorm Sandy disrupted our office for several days, we worked with local filmmakers to create:
BIKE READY
Framing how New York bicyclists responded in the aftermath of a disaster, this film is becoming a springboard for local preparedness. We hope you will take time to view this 4-minute film, and use the accompanying Guide so you can lead a #BikeReady project in your community too. This project is licensed under a 'copy left' Creative Commons license so you can adapt it as needed. Share it with bike groups, emergency planners and your municipality.
To support solutionary responses that reduce risks in communities worldwide, we created Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish and Japanese editions. All are on the same webpage as the English original, along with other resources to build resiliency, at GreenMap.org/bikeready. This video debuted at the New York Bicycle Film Festival, and has been shown in diverse community and university settings. It was created with support of our neighborhood’s ‘long term recovery group’, LES Ready.
Cycle daily for climate health, and in the spirit of mutual aid, get ready with Bike Ready!
- you are also invited to our Climate Week tour of renewables and biodesign on 9/23, linked below
Links:
We recently presented at Geo NYC, a terrific monthly exchange that draws about 100 mapping professionals (find it on Meetup.com, linked below). There, we shared progress toward diversifying the mapping platform options that Green Mapmakers can use to meet their varying goals and skills.
Civic Hall hosted our recent workshop, too, where members pitched in as we describe our process and future quest. We’ll soon be sharing more news on this with you, along with other news about our award-winning icons and engagement toolkit.
"As Green Map's Director, I was delighted to be recognized as a Lower East Side Community Hero, alongside a half dozen local luminaires". Wendy Brawer has worked in the community on cycling, green spaces and renewable energy, and our office has been based on the Lower East Side since inception". Later that week, Wendy was invited to the US State Department to meet Brazilian energy experts – her talk is linked below.
Later in June, our Bike Ready is part of the Bicycle Film Festival and other screenings. See this 4 minute film and use it to spark a conversation with your local bicyclists about organizing for emergencies. Cycling is the antidote to many of today’s challenging conditions!
Watch our social media for updates on more events this summer, including at the World Social Forum (Forum Social Mondial - fsm2016.org) in Montreal in August. And have a great season!
Links:
It’s the first day of spring, and a few blossoms herald welcome relief from winter’s grey chill. Regardless, 2016 has already provided a season for progress for Green Map System.
A retreat with our board of directors was especially satisfying as we consider practical ways to address current conditions, and meet our mission of supporting changing communities. We are always grateful for your donations that make it possible for us to welcome new projects on a continual basis, including most recently from Alaska’s Tanana Valley Watershed to Savannah Georgia, Natal Brazil to Madrid Spain, and beyond!
Our own mapping platform has been an important tool for hundreds of communities over the years, but today, with so many great mapping platforms alternatives available, this year, we are making test maps and exploring options. Check out our newest NYC Green Map, Hola LES, which is made on the CartoDB mapping platform. It’s embedded into the story of how it was made, which involved dozens of community members who joined us in considering the future of one neighborhood. Explore the map online, and if you are in NYC on May 7, join us for our Jane’s Walk, commemorating the 100th birthday of this activist who championed new community-based approaches to planning.
The season, our own Green Maps are on view in Women in Cartography exhibit at the Boston Public Library. With Earth Day just around the corner, Green Mapmakers will be taking part in events worldwide. Watch #GreenMap on Twitter to find out where to get involved! We hope you will make this spring one of action and for you and your community.
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