We believe that a Green Map can not only create a community portrait that changes our perspective of place, but the act of Green Mapping New Orleans can also 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.