Connecting with Green Sites on the Go
To engage New Yorkers in sustainable living by making thousands of natural, social, cultural and green living sites apparent. Using our universally recognized iconography, each on-site marker will convey pertinent green information to people on the street. Optionally, mobile technology will permit further on-site engagement through individual’s cell phones.
A propos de vous
A propos de vous
Prénom
Wendy
Nom
Brawer
URL du site Web
Organization
Green Map System
Pays
États Unis, NY, New York County
A propos de votre organisation
Nom
Green Map System
Site Web
Téléphone
212 6741631
Adresse
220A East 4th Street
Pays
États Unis, NY, New York County
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Your idea
Name Your Project
Connecting with Green Sites on the Go
Country your work focuses on
États Unis, NY
Describe Your Idea
To engage New Yorkers in sustainable living by making thousands of natural, social, cultural and green living sites apparent. Using our universally recognized iconography, each on-site marker will convey pertinent green information to people on the street. Optionally, mobile technology will permit further on-site engagement through individual’s cell phones.
Website URL
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
We intend to serve a broad, diverse audience with the Green Map On-Site Marker System. Requiring neither a printed map nor internet access, the Marker's display of universally recognized Green Map Icons will help everyone - young and old, visitors and residents - make the connection and understand the social, environmental and economic balance pursued by each site. Markers will include a digital link for details, encouraging people to contribute insights, images and assessments with their cell phone.
Our goal is to develop and test this Marker System in New York. Over our fifteen-year history as an NPO, we have published a dozen Green Maps highlighting this city's rich array of green sites. These diverse maps and our community engagement methodologies have become models for Green Map projects around the world, we expect the Marker System to do the same. Thus, we intend to extend our innovation to allow users to find green businesses, training programs, renewable energy sites, etc. in their own local neighborhoods in New York City and beyond without any additional tools.
This transformative resource will add a unique perspective to the public infrastructure, benefiting the site, residents and tourists. Markers will support sustainability resources and community well being, and create a synergistic approach to raising awareness that serves well-equipped, low tech and no-tech people equally.
Our idea is unique because it affects widespread impact toward sustainable living without the necessitating expensive and complicated technology. Our Marker system will be quickly and cheaply implemented because it builds upon all of the extensive, already existent resources in local communities around the world.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Non
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
Green Map System is a locally-led global movement charting the way to a sustainable future.
People in 680 cities, towns and campuses in 55 countries have gotten involved since 1995. Each project has unique outcomes, but all use Green Map Icons to identify, promote, and link assets and issues impacting local progress toward sustainability. With nearly 5 million printed maps, a multilingual interactive social-media mapping platform, convenient mobile apps, and great public events, everyone can take part in creating a greener and healthier future, right in their own community.
Honored with international awards, including the UN (1998 Global Best Practices100), President's Council (1999 National Sustainability Award in New Communications Tools), Technology Benefiting Humanity (2001 Laureate), Treehugger (2010 Best Tool for Green Travelers) and others, Green Map System has an efficient, flexible approach and adaptable toolkit. We broadly incubate new leadership, collaboration and communications skills while generating powerful Green Maps that make sustainability meaningful to millions. As seen at GreenMap.org, everyone – residents, youth, tourists and decision-makers - can discover their world from a fresh perspective and connect today's progress with tomorrow's promise.
Our New York website, GreenAppleMap.org, shows how we work with local universities (NYU, Pace, Columbia, Parsons), community groups (Bed-Stuy EcoMapping, Queens DiverCity, Harlem Green Faith), and K12 classes, in addition to producing our own themed (energy, composting, youth) and comprehensive Green Maps. Using the data from these maps, we hope to implement our Marker System so that sustainability resources become apparent and approachable directly from the street.
Problem
The Green Map Site Marker System addresses the challenge of inclusive participation in sustainable community development and works to overcome the social equity gap in communications technology. We anticipate the markers will lead people into the site to learn about sustainability in the urban context first hand. Countless 'aha moments,' engagements and personal transformations should occur, each transforming typical passersby into advocates for and contributors to the emerging low-carbon society. Each person can opt to read the full online description of any site on the spot (or later at home), and enhance it directly, expressively sharing their understanding in any language. These crowd-sourced interactions will significantly contribute to each community's shared knowledge and help dialogue its more sustainable future.
Actions
We shared our concept with potential partners and received positive feedback from local sustainability resources. Our experience developing an expansive international network has shown starting with a committed coalition of local partners is the best way to jumpstart new projects and involve more people. After this step, we concluded that comprehensive research and a design process that anticipates diverse needs is crucial to our success. In light of this, we’ve begun researching existent marker systems. We found these systems are ineffective if users are concerned the information is out-of-date and doesn’t convey enough about the site. We will combat this in our system with unique application of 2D barcodes (or tiny URLs), allowing users to garner and share the most up-to-date information about the site, and by utilizing our preexisting network of supporters to build a social groundswell of support for the reliability and comprehensiveness of the Green Map Marker and Icon model.
Results
Using our award-winning universal Green Map Iconography, we expect to create a game-changing Marker System that supports hundreds of beneficial green sites while also highlighting negatives that the community should address. Our markers will be quite informative, using up to 8 universal Green Map Icons to highlight different green features: for example a community garden could also be designated a solar site, a bird watching area, wheelchair accessible, have water recycling, native plants, food gathering and composting.
We expect youth, adults and decision-makers to become more eco-literate and increase their ability to make critical assessments while fomenting deeper greening by the marked sites. We plan to give each New Yorker and visitor a chance to experience what sustainability means in the local context, example by example. We aim to inspire replication of model best practices, as exemplified by the sites and showcased on their Marker.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
In the first year we expect to work closely with all the local Green Mapmakers, learning about diversity issues and community-based needs that will impact the Marker System's design and implementation. We'll also extend this understanding to the Green Map sites by researching and surveying a cross-section of mapped locations to learn about needs they have self-identified.
After the research is complete, we expect to test different styles of markers and observe the responses in cycles throughout the rest of the year one. During this testing period we will involve interns from local design schools to address human factors and refine the system. The finalized markers will be deployed in year two, along with a social marketing program to ensure the active awareness and participation of individuals in the city.
After the launch of the finalized markers, we will determine the appropriate frequency and best approach for a 'check-in' system to gauge the success of the Marker System and make adjustments where necessary. This monitoring system may also coincide with the development of a series of tours (on foot, by bike, with podcasts, etc). By the third year we will have all of the necessary information on hand to expand the Green Map Marker System to other interested communities around the world. Three years is the ideal time frame for the full process and test the outcomes. Much of impact we will create is subtle and requires careful planning, interaction and detailed assessment to ensure a resounding success. Having your support will make all the difference!
What would prevent your project from being a success?
One of the primary obstacles to success would be if the site owners did not want to put our beautifully designed markers by their entrances. Further, we plan to make a thorough baseline survey to determine how the Marker System has impacted the site, but another obstacle will be if the site owners or managers decline to provide this data. If that’s the case, we will be limited to relying on other means, such as observation, to see how well the markers are performing. In an endeavor to pre-empt any such hesitance, we will work to create a groundswell of excitement through media outreach, interaction with BIDs (business improvement districts) and agencies such as the Parks Department that will increase desire and demand to be included in this new city-wide initiative to improve accessibility to sustainable living. We fully expect the sites to request the Green Map System’s 'We're on the Green Map' graphic, designed to be added to their promotional materials. Finally, the digital “bridge” between the marker and the mobile phone could prove to be more difficult or costly than expected to create. It will require social marketing to be become broadly utilized and appreciated.
How many people will your project serve annually?
Plus de 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$1000 - 4000
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Oui
Viabilité
A quel étape votre projet en est-il ?
Étape conceptuelle
Votre organisation est-elle une
organisation à but non lucratif
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Oui
If yes, provide organization name.
Green Map System
How long has this organization been operating?
Plus 5 années
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Oui
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Oui
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Oui
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with government?
Oui
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
The ever-growing global Green Map network will provide valuable outlets for these partnerships, especially as the NYC Marker System will eventually become a model for the expansion of this innovative system in other local contexts. We gain much from working together!
Closer to home, we expect to involve local NYC Green Mapmakers in doing outreach and working with the sites in their own boroughs and neighborhoods. Based in universities and schools, grassroots and established organizations, we will invite them to will help us develop and deliver a survey and observation methodology that helps ensure optimal outcomes. The social media component of the program will be greatly enhanced in the same way.
A boon to project facilitation, these local interactions will lead to improved Green Maps, networking, and relationships. We'll involve student interns who can provide part of the oversight and footwork needed, and take part in usability studies and digital 'bridge' planning, building their capacity to lead sustainability, collaboration and communications projects.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
The first important action to grow Green Map System and its proposed Marker System is the fostering of a heightened level of awareness and concern for sustainability. This is particularly true of increased knowledge of nearby resources useful in everyday shopping, dining, getting around, learning, working and recreating. Generating greater visibility of these sustainable living solutions among to travelers will also spur replication of model best practices, which in turn will contribute to the number of site markers needed.
The second most important action for the longevity of this unique Marker System will be to extend the model to other locations once the NYC pilot has proved successful. With the Open Green Map platform growing by hundreds of sites each week, the Site Marker System can be extended to new cities rapidly. Our overall goals include increased social interaction and media that will highlight our online, mobile and on-site resources. To ensure the success of this action, it's imperative that both this interactive mapping platform and the Marker System gain the financial support or self-generate the income needed to assure their long-term impact.
The question of funding highlights the final most important action step, to ensure the appropriate leadership, funding and volunteer resources are available to complete all the tasks associated with this program in a thorough yet timely manner. While funding is difficult to generate in the current economy, we feel the Marker System will serve as a wonderfully low-cost promotion for each site on the map, helping them generate new participants, customers and members. Such community building potential extends this project well beyond a one-time environmental fix, ultimately making investment in this project worthwhile among all participants.
The Story
What was the defining moment that you led to this innovation?
With thousands and thousands of neighbors and tourists without access to technology and Green Maps – we conceived of a direct way to impact them all. Our project draws from our social mapping platform, and optimally, will gain from the insights of people who discover the city's green living resources because of the Green Map Site Marker System. We live in a city in transition and believe this simple innovation will help ensure it is transformed in the most positive, inclusive and sustainable way.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
Wendy Brawer, an eco designer in New York, had the unique inspiration to map that city’s “green” characteristics in 1992. It immediately gave many users a new perception of the environment and convenient everyday greener resources. Seeing how this Green Apple Map effectively introduced local residents the city’s diverse sustainability resources, Wendy created the global Green Map System. She developed the concept of a globally designed universal iconography that would link all the locally-made Green Maps together, effectively creating one of the first universal symbol systems for maps. An innovation in and of itself, the Green Map Icons function as an inventory tool for green living sites, local natural, cultural and social resources. This award-winning set spurs replication of model sustainability initiatives and supports cross-cultural dialogue and exchange.
Wendy lives to see her creations remixed and repurposed. She works to help each project achieve its own goals in embarking on a Green Map project, introducing new audiences to the unique environment and opportunities in their own hometown, merging the worlds of expression, engagement, information and technology in a way that it tangibly benefits many places, species and people at once. Ahead of diverse sustainability trends, Wendy also mentors professionals, students and community groups as they develop the emerging green economy, new career paths and ventures, helping them consider long-term impacts, social equity and biodiversity as part of the 'triple bottom line'.
With the Green Map, Wendy has created an inspiring product-service system, with local production and distribution and a wide range of products, bringing great recognition to many Green Mapmakers. Green Map System is continuously expanding because it encourages collaborations, diverse partnerships, and local community involvement. Green Map System owes its claim as a social innovation to the ability to sustain its own growth, fueled by Wendy’s incredible creativity and innovativeness.
As seen at ecoCultural.info, Wendy has taught at New York University and Cooper Union, spoken at more than 50 conferences and universities, and written on eco-design internationally since 1990. Through her company, Modern World Design, Wendy’s consulting projects have promoted renewable energy, clean mobility, waste reduction and climate protection and she is active on boards and advisory councils. Named one of the Utne 50 Visionaries Changing your World (2009), Designer in Residence at Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (1997) and Terre de Femme/Woman of Earth (2005). Wendy is also a newby farmer, in a partnership in an organic blueberry farm.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Newsletter from Changemakers
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
| Fichier attaché | Taille |
|---|---|
| On Site Signage.png | 399.78 Ko |
| Application Software.png | 247.38 Ko |
| Mobile Component.png | 375.45 Ko |
| Test Run on NY Cafe.png | 414.82 Ko |
| Initial Marker Concepts.png | 228.58 Ko |
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Commentaires
I think this is a very cool idea! It can speak to people on the street and make it much easier for us to be a part of the green movement. One question I have: how will people know how to interpret the icons if they have never seen them before?
Thanks and good luck!
Thanks Daniel -
We hope the meaning of the globally designed Green Map Icons will be pretty apparent to most people who see them, even if it's the first time. Our plan is to have more information available right at the green site, so curious people can find out more directly by walking in. This will also link mobile phones to our website, where they can find out more about the site and about the icons.
If you want to know more now, you can download the Green Map Icon poster in several languages at http://GreenMap.org/icons.
On the Open Green Map, you can hover over the icon in the legend or in any site's description to read its global definition. And if you have the Green Map iPhone App, you can explore what's green nearby, filtered by the icon.
Among the myriad innovations for sustainability, Green Map Icons are really a unique communication resource, helping people make the connection in their own community or while traveling!
Would this be a summer project for the students involved or a year long class activity? Since it has to be financially sustainable, how can you include students over a long term period? Through a student club?
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