This is our manifesto and is what we envision for a layered and comprehensive Open Green Map for New Orleans:
Simply, we believe Green Mapping New Orleans can involve everyone in the healthy development of place. Or, as other Green Mappers tell it, Green Mapping is the mechanism used to promote “inclusive participation in sustainable community development” (Greenmap.org).
It began in New York City in 1992. Conceived by Wendy Brawer, founder and director of the Green Map System, the Green Apple Map, was not only a guide for tourists but also served to generate “renewed personal interest in sustainability” among New Yorkers. The great response to this first Green Map led to the 1995 launch of the “globally linked, locally adaptable” Green Map System. Even though all Green Mapmakers share the same icon language the system is an ever evolving resource relying on an “open spirit of communication” as it adapts to local needs and reaches new communities. Consequently, a great diversity of maps is produced. For example, the city of Calgary provided a color-corrected remote sensing base-map to the mapmakers of Sustainable Calgary. Bicycle and pedestrian paths were given precedence over automobile streets which were not included in the map. The Milwaukee Green Map includes eight maps in one covering such issues as the watershed, planning, light pollution, population, waste and detailed listings of hundreds of sustainably related sites. To create the Mapa Verde, a team of nine from Mexico City’s municipal environment agency used GIS software. Community members and tourists alike can get a large version for wall posting as well as small booklets for exploring the city. Neighborhood youth created LoMap, a Green Map of Lower Manhattan. It employs descriptions and drawings by more than 250 kids using nominations for inclusion on the map. LoMap, part of the Green Apple Map project, is being used as a model by several other communities. The Green Map System has been used to create over 365 maps in 54 countries.
Based on these many examples, we believe a New Orleans Green Map will be part of a global network that creates “perspective-changing community portraits.” A Green Map of New Orleans can create a holistic picture of all of the different green living, ecological, social and cultural resources in our city. Additionally, a comprehensive view of green resources can assist communities in decision making about what are the possibilities for community enhancement. It can further assist our communities connect with sustainability initiatives globally while promoting that same connectedness within where different organizations and community members can share ideas, resources and equitable business. Lastly, a Green Map of New Orleans can serve as an interesting but practical guide for residents and tourists creating another layer of diversity to the traditional tourist fare.
As a Green Map can create a community portrait that changes our perspective of place, the act of Green Mapping New Orleans can facilitate an urban form of ecological restoration. The act itself, community members charting their neighborhoods, employs local knowledge while simultaneously solidifying and building on that knowledge. It can enhance local knowledge of places that benefit local communities and the local natural environment as well as places that need restoration. Mapping these neighborhoods can create networks of sustainability and open up options on how place can be improved. In the act of mapping, one’s identification with place is enhanced and as new knowledge is added to existing knowledge, possibilities for greater community independence and sustainability arise. Add to this the network with worldwide Green Maps and mapmakers and the possibilities for our world expands while it also becomes more localized.
All in all, a New Orleans Green Map and the creation of it can foster a sustainable economy of place. The map can help our city produce the necessities and services for our communities with local resources that don’t harm us. In short, a Green Map of New Orleans can be a lynchpin in helping to create a more self-reliant community with connections between place, community, and nature.
