Our Green Map will be used as an education and marketing tool before and during the Gulf Coast Green Symposium 2008 (GCG'08). It is our intention to continue to update the map and make it available to the public after the event. We intend to focus on Houston and the surrounding area of Harris County (1,800 square miles and 3.7M people). The Map will be centered on the City of Houston’s urban core and extend throughout the Greater Houston Metropolitan area.

Education is the key environmental issue we will focus on. The purpose of GCG’08 is to educate all levels of professionals on Green Building in Hot and Humid Climates. We intend to initially offer the map as part of our program. Opportunities for education will be indicated by focusing on areas of past, current and future environmental and sustainable successes within our community. For many, it is hard to think about Houston as a “Green” city. However, it is. It is surprising how many individuals, buildings, associations, events are all contributing to change this stereotype.

Members of the Gulf Coast Green Publicity Committee will be focusing on the map project. We will solicit guidance and contributions from local non-profit organizations such as the Gulf Coast Institute and intend to involve students from a local school, Crockett Elementary, in the map-making process.

Our target audience is two-fold: out of town visitors who are new to the area; and, Harris County residents who may be familiar with the area but are not aware of all the educational options available.