As a Resource economics and Geography major at the University of Connecticut, I am very interested in mapping environmental and communal sustainability. Green Map System pursues this field with intelligence and commitment. I recently came in contact with Green Map System when I decided to direct the creation of a Green Map of my university, located in Storrs, CT.

During the summer of 2011, I am working as a summer intern at Green Map System. I enjoy working at an organization that diligently promotes environmental consciousness and sustainability.

Recently, the summer intern team has been mapping energy development in New York City. Thorough research has been done and many new energy sites have been added to our Open Green Map (which includes, among others, sites from the 2006 Powerful Green Map). The updated map will display certified LEED buildings, sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy sites, city parks and farmers markets throughout the five boroughs.

As part of my research, I have developed a guide that shows various energy maps of New York City. This guide contains maps that display the solar energy potential for every building in the city, such as the NYC Solar Map, developed in late June at the City University of New York. There are also maps that show the renewable energy potential for New York State, including Wind and Solar maps developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The new interactive NYC Energy Green Map will debut during Earth Day 2012.

In addition to the research I have been doing on renewable energy, I have also been working with Local Spokes to promote sustainable transportation, green infrastructure and urban design. Local Spokes is the Lower East Side/Chinatown Bicycling Coalition. I have put together a presentation for the Youth Ambassadors demonstrating Manhattan Island’s historical evolution and efforts to preserve and further maintain the natural environment.

Download the NYC Renewable Energy Guide

Download my presentation on Historical Evolution of New York City.

Now that the new map has debuted, we invite you to embed the NYC Energy Green Map into your own website!

Aaron Miller read more »

O método utilizado é o SEMEAR, da empresa NEOLABOR, um jeito de ensinar-aprender que facilita o envolvimento dos alunos com as mudanças tecnológicas e culturais que acontecerem no seu entorno. É um método eficiente de educação ambiental, cujo passo a passo reproduzimos:
Sensibilização: Sustentabilidade é um tema inter e transdisciplinar. A idéia é proporcionar situações que estimulem o aluno a ter vontade de participar ativamente do processo de aprendizagem, pois só mudamos quando queremos. Os estudantes são convidados a refletir sobre conceitos de sustentabilidade e têm o primeiro contato com o Mapa Verde, que pode ser projetado em apresentação.read more »

Barcelona, Spain is a city abundant in historical and cultural character, attracting a vast tourism industry. The city’s free, McDonald’s sponsored tourism map, Barcelona Tourisme, highlights many of these sites for visitors. However, ecotourism sites that advance Barcelona’s sustainability are left uncharted. Barcelona Green Map, now led by Petz Scholtus of Pöko Design Studio, seeks to change that.

Barcelona’s green resources were first charted on Mapa Verd in 1999. Led by solar engineer Josep Puig, hundreds of sites were plotted on the map. Since then, the city has advanced its sustainability efforts, including a bike share system that revolutionized sustainable transportation throughout the city. To share these resources with tourists, Barcelona’s Green Mapmakers have created an eco-advocating refinement to the thousands of maps distributed by McDonald’s. Using the existing Barcelona Turisme as its base, Pöko Design Studio created an overlay printed on transparent vellum (trace paper) that adds a layer of green sites to the free map available at the Barcelona Tourist Office. This provides tourists access to natural, cultural and green living resources, in addition to the sites on the underlying map. Barcelona Green Map also provides its sites with a window tag, identifying their inclusion on the Green Map and promoting them as sustainability sites. read more »

Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, a major industrial and cultural center in the Volga region, one of the oldest cities of Russia. A unique combination of Muslim and Christian cultures and advantageous geographic location makes the city a popular attraction for domestic and international tourism.
In 2013 Kazan will hosts the World summer Universiade games. We want our city to be not only the most sports, but also the greenest city of Russian Federation.
In 2009 the Children's Center "Tankodrom" and the Institute of ecology of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences made an agreement with the «Green Map» organization. In fact, this is the first project in the Russian Federation.read more »

Este projeto foi resultante de uma palestra ministrada pela Profa. Maria do Carmo no curso de pós-graduação em Design da UFPR, na disciplina de Design de Produtos Sustentáveis, ministrada pelo prof. Aguinaldo dos Santos.
Produto fora lançado durante a Bienal Brasileira de Design em setembro de 2010, destinado aos participantes da bienal e a todos os interessados em localizar os pontos considerados como produtores ou revendedores de produtos com design e com conceitos de sustentabilidade inseridos – mapeados segundo a ótica dos alunos matriculados na disciplina.
Depois de treinados no uso da plataforma pelos bolsistas de extensão do projeto – os mestrandos em numero de 10 passaram a estabelecer os critérios de trabalho e localizar os pontos a ser mapeado com registro dos dados em planilha própria. Segundo passo, definição e localização das coordenadas geográficas dos pontos levantados na pesquisa de campo e uso da plataforma greenmap system.read more »

O EDS 2010 contou com a participação de empresários e acadêmicos de todas as partes do mundo. Todos buscando encontrar e compartilhar ideias para semear um futuro sustentável. A oficina Mapa Verde Curitiba totalizou 62 inscritos dos mais variados segmentos da sociedade. Em sua maioria, o público participante foi composto por professores de variadas instituições de ensino, desde a educação básica até a universitária – em maior parte de outras cidades e potenciais para se tornarem makermaps em suas cidades.
Os participantes demonstraram forte interesse no projeto, que adquiriu maior representatividade perante a comunidade, conforme constatatado através de propostas de parcerias e solicitações de oficinas em suas organizações, após o término da oficina. read more »

So much in this city can be described as “green.” Each street corner may reveal a sprawling farmer’s market of local fruits and vegetables or perhaps a painted green concrete bike lane. As New York City enters an age in which it must improve its energy yield, Green Building is at the forefront in creating a sustainable metropolis. In 2007 Mayor Michael Bloomberg released PlaNYC, a plan to reduce New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30% by 2030. In April 2011, an updated version of PlaNYC concluded that 80% of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions are due to the operation of buildings. From sprouting skyscrapers to historic brownstones, buildings define our cityscape. In order to move towards sustainability, NYC must improve the performance of existing buildings and any new construction to come.read more »

First published in 2007, the Compost Green Map of Manhattan has been a beacon for gardeners and waste-aware citizens across the city. Indicating both composting how-to’s and sites for community composting, this small yet powerful map teaches residents of Manhattan how feasible—and beneficial—it is to turn food and garden scraps into rich new soil. Our partner on the project, the Lower East Side Ecology Center, has resultantly experienced exponential growth in the amount of compostables dropped off at their locations in Manhattan!

In 2011, policy makers have acted to increase composting in Manhattan and funded 23 new projects, including the expansion of the online edition at OpenGreenMap.org/compostnyc. New sites are springing up all over. Each of these new efforts is mapped thanks to a grant from Borough President Scott Stringer, Manhattan SWAB, and Citizen's Committee for NYC.read more »

O experimento do novo modelo de oficina, voltado para pequenos públicos e com a característica de formadores de opinião (universitários), mostrou-se satisfatório e de grande representatividade no que tange a principal inovação, o ingresso de uma etapa de discussão, em que a opinião da comunidade ultrapassa os limites do mapeamento em si e chega ao nível de compreensão das práticas de sustentabilidade.
Outro resultado foi a ampliação do número de voluntários envolvidos e capacitados para aplicar a metodologia de intervenção do Mapa Verde em Curitiba. Como a oficina contou com poucos participantes externos, foi possível aos mapmakers na ocasião, dar atenção aos novatos no projeto.read more »