About

Introducing the Open Green Map

For all people ready to participate in creating a healthy, sustainable and just world, Green Map System offers a direct pathway to the significant ecological, cultural and civic resources near home through our locally published and interactive maps, our globally recognized icons and mapmaking tools, and communications network linking Mapmakers in more than 65 countries.

Green Map System has promoted inclusive participation in sustainable community development around the world since 1995, using mapmaking as our medium. Over 900 locally-led map projects have successfully published more than 550 local Green Maps, used by millions to connect with green living, nature, social and cultural resources near home and while traveling. Each unique map utilizes Green Map® Icons to highlight both positive and challenging sites. Project profiles, mapmaking resources, our history and much more about Green Map System and our award-winning iconography is at GreenMap.org.

Now, we're taking our inclusiveness mission to the next level with the Open Green Map, an interactive mapmaking tool that helps people worldwide quickly share their own selection of sustainability sites, pathways and resources online. Merging local knowledge and our freshly updated iconography (download chart and definitions) with Google Map and open source Drupal technology, the resulting interactive maps can be explored here today.

You can quick find, compare and learn from each site and community initiative on the map. Open Green Map (OGM) invites the public to add their own comments, green ratings, images and videos and share how each site on the map has changed their life with an innovative 'Impact Index'. With this social mapping website, people of all ages and backgrounds can get involved! Download a flowchart for a quick overview.

Launched in June 2009 with a in progress following global launch celebration, there are now over 120 Open Green Maps and over 10,000 sites for you to explore, share and enhance. OGM's thousands of sites can be explored on any mobile phone by entering GreenMap.org into the phone's internet browser. The resulting beta "What's Green Nearby?™" resource is also featured on version 1.0 of the Green Map iPhone App! Search Green Map in the Apple Store or click GreenMap.org/app to experience Green Maps, photos, videos and other movement-wide outcomes. You can also enhance your website or blog with our Green Map Widgets to share maps, find green sites, explore icons, news and more!

The Open Green Map:

Allows instant easy publishing, updating and expansion of Green Map projects.

Invites the public to explore a world of green sites, and then enrich them by adding insights, connections, and multimedia elements in any language.

Encourages comparison of the attributes of green sites with the same icons under the Connections tab

Encourages the public to suggest sites directly to any Green Map

Allows users to find and filter any site on the World View Map

Eliminates costly design and production while encouraging essential community participation.

Provides an interactive base for all green site data worldwide.

Contains special features that encourage users to customize their view according to the icons of greatest personal interest, a flagging system to help monitor the quality of public content, and soon, will offer enhanced widgets so you can embed Open Green Maps on your own website, and much, much more that you can preview here.

We invite you to explore your choice of Open Green Maps today and return often to see what's new and green nearby!

Open Green Map team, 2008

Accomplishments

Opening May 14, Green Map System and its locally-led global movement are delighted to be represented in the National Design Triennial. Global cooperation to solve the world’s problems is reflected in “Why Design Now?” held at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City. The exhibition is on view through January 9, 2011.

In May, 2010, new sets of Green Map Widgets were launched. By embedding simple code into website or blog, anyone can share information on Green Maps, Mapmakers, Green Sites, and explore all kinds of resources.

On April 7, 2010, Open Green Map sustainability mapping platform has been selected by Treehugger.com for 2010's Best of Green, and designated the Best Tool for Green Travelers!

As of February 16, 2010, explore OGM's sites on any mobile phone by entering GreenMap.org into the phone's internet browser. The resulting "What's Green Nearby?™" resource is also featured on version 1.0 of the Green Map iPhone App! Both beta resources are free and display over 8,800 sites from OGM!

On February 14, 2010, OGM is a winner of the Living Labs Global Showcase Award !

As of November 20, 2009, more than 100 Open Green Maps are available to the public!

As of July 20, 2009, the 5,000 green site milestone has been reached! More than 80 Open Green Maps are now available to explore and enhance. OGM has received another honor, too, thank to the Cause/Affect social design competition sponsored by the AIGA of San Francisco.

On June 5th, the launch of the Open Green Map was celebrated in 13 cities in 10 countries! Thousands of people took part in bog garden plantings, bike powered parties, exhibitions, demonstrations, virtual and hands on mapping. The City of Baltimore USA officially proclaimed June 5 as Baltimore Green Map Day and in Clackmannanshire Scotland, dignitaries from all levels of government took part in the festivities. See the accounts in our Launching Around the Clock slideshow. The impacts of this global event keep reverberating too.

On May 20th, Open Green Map was named a Finalist in the Index Awards, a prestigious European design prize. Find out about the awards and traveling exhibit here and see our entry here. Our Director will be taking part in Index Awards events in Copenhagen in August.

As of May 12, 2009, there are nearly 4,000 sites and more than 50 OGM maps! Lines and areas as well as sites can be added by Mapmakers. We have also gained the support of the Surdna Foundation!

A 2009 We Media Finalist, OGM has also been the subject of many recent articles and blogs.

As of December 1, 2008, there are 36 different Open Green Maps with 2,350 sites to explore, comment on, and rate. 12 countries are represented to date. Behind the scenes, dozens more maps are in progress.

In October, the Green Map network reached the 500 project milestone! Download our Citylist here.

OGM was the 3rd place winner in the Tele Atlas Maps in Apps competition in September 2008, winning $10,000, valuable map data and a convention showcase.

OGM became a 2008 Netsquared Mashup Challenge - Featured Project.

OGM was presented at conferences including Where 2.0 (Bay Area US), Seoul Design Olympiad (South Korea), the Community University Expo (Victoria Canada) and EcoCity World Summit (San Francisco US) conferences, and featured in articles linked below.

Phase 1 was completed on July 31 2008, and all registered Green Mapmakers could begin making Open Green Maps!

Work on this website commenced in Spring 2008, following 6 months of strategic development and planning.

Support Green Map System & the Open Green Map!

We're doing all we can to help hundreds of communities worldwide - Your support is greatly appreciated! Find the different ways to help strengthen our initiatives by funding, promoting the project and sharing your skills to help build OGM. View the list of OGM Sponsors - we'd love to see your name here! Donations and sponsorships are tax deductible and have a meaningful impact on the environment, climate and our common future.

Get Involved!

We welcome your participation in this project! Green Map projects are direct, democratic communication, dependent on local knowledge and action. Mapmaking teams work together with the commitment, networks, skills and spirit it takes to initiate and complete a challenging project with important social and environmental impacts. You are invited to contribute your knowledge to any site on the map. Or, become the leader of your community's Green Map team and make a major contribution to your hometown’s healthier, more sustainable future, with the help of our award-winning iconography, collaboratively created tools and network. More about the Mapmakers, their profiles, stories and impacts can be found in our complete About section (find our new book about impacts here, too).

Currently, you need to be a registered Green Mapmaker to create an Open Green Map. Click here to learn more, or get general information in the FAQ.

Open Green Map in the News!

Quotes about the Open Green Map and Green Map System are in the Testimonials or read the full articles in our News section.

Here are some examples!

“...since it is interactive, the locals who really know their home can give the inside scoop – it’ll be like being with the green in-crowd wherever you are…I’m really excited about this because my most favorite cities to visit – and even my own town – will suddenly have a whole slew of new secrets revealed, and a little bit of that guilt over traveling can be reduced.” EcoGeek.org

“This online map program is fabulous and I'm inspired. What a cool way to get connected and see what's green around the country.” Planet Pink n' Green

Press and media resources are in our Share & Promote linked to the menu above. Download our Press Release and view resources from digital banners to Open Green Map parties to youth mapping guidance. On the bottom of this page, you can download a slideshow about this platform, too.

Introductory Video - 3 minute overview

This video introduces the Open Green Map. It can be downloaded as a PDF file below. Find more recent promotion resources at Share and Promote.

Credits and Acknowledgments

The Open Green Map development team includes: Thomas Turnbull, Carlos Martinez, Open Flows Community Technology Lab, Wendy Brawer, Miikka Lammela, Gottfried Haider, Bob Zuber, Andrew Sass, Yoko Ishibashi, Akiko Rokube, Té Baybute, Myriam Nouicer, Nicole Mau, Andrew Fenster, Risa Ishikawa, Yelena Zolotorevskaya, Julia Brocker, Yang Sun, Lee Frankel-Goldwater, Ciprian Samoila, Amol Patwardhan, Dru Hara, Maddy Goldfarb, Kathryn Podobinski, Courtney Wolf and Beth Ferguson.

Many thanks to all the Green Mapmakers who have taken part in the development process to date: Anna Krusic, Janet Felsten, Hannah Clinch, Kevin McDonagh, Therese Kristiansson, Mike Trevett, Nicolas Masson, Charles Burnett, Patrick Hayes, Misako Yomosa, Lake Sagaris, Magda Moral, Jerrad Pierce, Peter van de Loo, Elanto Wijoyono, Jacqueline Rose, Hu Huizhe, Leo de Mello, Max Goldstein, Ryan Meher, Olivier Lomel, Isabelle Duvivier, Maeve Lydon, Masahiro Horiuchi, David Kupfer, Jason White, Calin Colacel, Ruxandra Solare and Susanna Iraci.

And special thanks to our Board of Directors, too: Sara Tucker, Joshua Arnow, Alice Hartley, Andrew van der Laan, Stan Wiechers and Carter Craft (and past board members DK Holland and Jaimie Cloud).

Thanks to the Drupal community, Micheal Silberman, Lisa Garrison, Brian Hamlin, Mikel Maron, Andrew Cross and several mashup artists and social networkers who have advised us along the way!

Thank you for using OGM and contributing to this online community!

In Progress

More features on the Open Green Map social mapping platform are in development! This page highlights the new elements in the works.

Data management. Now, all Green Mapmakers can export content from this platform to create great printed Green Maps and related digital, curriculum and community building resources. Data import is being tested, to benefit those who have amassed site data offiline or in other formats. If you want to download inspiring, beautifully designed locally-published Green Map editions now, many are linked in the Info Tab alongside each map with the Profile. Find even more in the Maps section at GreenMap.org.

Mobile Website Development. (Beta) After launching alpha version of our "What's Green Nearby?" mobile website, we are still in progress of developing the beta version for rich mobile phones. If you are interested in funding or become a sponsor for this particular project, please contact us.

Translated interfaces. Access the first interface languages on the upper left. Use the Google Translate menu on pages without maps. While any language can be added to any site's info windows and map information, the translation of the overall website takes a special template and dedicated effort! Please let us know if you can help.

Issues. With open development, you may spot a bug or something that's not quite functioning ideally. Click contact us below, and let us know. Soon, a linked list of bugs and suggestions will be added here so you can help prioritize them.

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