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Open Green Maps

Since 1995, Green Map has made map-making a shared activity. With the launch of its Open Green Map system, the New York-based organization is enhancing its mix of map-making and community participation through a mash up of Google Maps, open source software, and Green Map’s own iconography. The resulting experience creates a new level of participation, engagement and commitment from its users.

Participatory sustainability mapping

Green Maps is a participatory mapping project that began in 1995. Over 500 locally-led map projects have successfully published more than 360 Green Maps since then. They’ve been used by millions to connect with green living, nature, social and cultural resources near home and while traveling. Green Map has taken the next logical step in interaction and participation with the launch of its Open Green Map system on Earth Day in 2009.
The system uses Drupal, an open source platform, combined with Java to create a user friendly, and easily changeable ‘skin’ over Google Maps. Users can explore the Green Maps as presented, but also create their own personalized view of each map, add comments, images, video from sites like Flickr and You Tube, or understand maps in foreign languages through a translation interface. Users can also embed maps on their own websites or social networking pages by using the Open Green Maps widget.
Green Maps has always been a participatory organization as local groups used the system to create maps for others. With Open Green Maps, the participation is in real-time, and anyone can do it. Green Map’s success is based on its a global symbol system. It means that Green Map makers can focus on the local but make information understandable to anyone who is familiar with Green Map’s iconography. Thus, Open Green Map is helping forge global communities and a consciousness of local activity on a global scale.

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