Sustainable Mapping
Planning a Sustainable Future for your Community
Green Offaly will be working with Communities to help them create Sustainable Maps for their area.
A truly sustainable Community is one that can largely provide for itself with regard to what it is dependent upon — food production, electricity production, clean water, transportation, etc. Rather than being a fixed thing, a sustainable community is continually adjusting to meet the social and economic needs of its residents while preserving the environment’s ability to support it.
The key questions to consider in Sustainable Mapping are:
What strengths does your Community have which are unique to your area. This could be being a member of an SEC, having Pollinator Friendly areas, Green Schools, Electric car charging ports, a Community Garden, a River walk, a water fountain, a rare species of Bird or Plant, and so on. We then move on to look at what is not so great about where you live – do you have empty shops, a littering problem, waste being dumped nearby, pollution, difficulty getting Volunteers on board and so on.
Where does your Community want to be in 20 years time (did we mention dreams take time)? This is the fun part and we encourage Sustainable Mappers to reach for the stars while keeping their feet on the ground! Do you want to live in a Community which has access to local food? Do you want a better public transport network? Would you like more freedom and safe spaces for your child to play in Nature? Do you want to attract more tourism? Would you like more businesses in your area?
What steps are you taking, or do you need to take to achieve the Community of your dreams? Who is going to help? How long is it going to take? Where are the difficulties in your vision and how will you overcome them? What supports can you access?
Creating the Green Map
When the 3 stages are complete, the process of transferring this information to a ‘Green Map’ begins. Translating your Communities sustainable vision onto a working Map has many benefits. Everyone can see clearly where you are going. You can see and be encouraged by the strengths that your area already has. The Map can be used to inform others, to gain funding support for your Projects and attract visitors to your area.
Sustainable Mapping can involve everyone, from Tidy Towns Groups to Development Associations, Local Schools, Businesses, Transition Year students and local libraries. Each Map is unique to its area and can be as creative or streamlined as you wish. We strongly encourage local artists, amateur or otherwise to assist in this stage. As well as creating a printed version of the Map, we will also simultaneously create a digital map which can be updated as you make progress over the coming years!
Green Offaly is very excited to begin this journey with Communities, using the Green Map System devised by Wendy Brawer (see resources) Green Maps offer the best tools we have found to assist you in your Sustainable Planning. Green Maps have been created all over the world from Communities in Cuba to Businesses in New York. Please look at the Project Stories link below to get an idea of how amazing your Map can be.
Once completed you can choose to upload your Green Map to the ‘What’s Happening in your Area’ section.
| Key Themes when thinking about creating a Sustainability Map for your Town. | |
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1.Transport & Travel |
Reducing the need to Travel, encouraging walking, cycling and promoting low carbon public or shared transport. |
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2.Energy |
Making our homes and town buildings/businesses more energy efficient. Exploring Renewable Energy options. |
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3.Biodiversity
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Protecting and restoring the land for the benefit of people and wildlife. |
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4.Green Infrastructure
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Looking at incorporating natural and engineered green technologies into our town including trees, hedgerows, habitat corridors, green roofs and porous pavements.
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5.Water |
Using water efficiently, protecting local water sources, reducing flooding and drought. |
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6.Climate Resilience |
Assessing the risks to your Town from Climate Change How can we mitigate & adapt? |
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7.Food |
Promoting healthy, locally produced food. Looking at ways to grow local in the area. |
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8.Built Environment |
Identifying redundant and underused assets in the Town. Sustainable Housing, Commerce & Community Buildings. |
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9.Materials & Products |
Using Materials from Sustainable sources and promoting products which help consumers reduce consumption. |
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10.Local Economy - Culture & Community. |
Creating local Employment opportunities, provision of local services and recreational facilities. |
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11.Waste & Resources |
Reducing Consumption, reusing and recycling to achieve zero waste and zero pollution. |
These themes will take time to plan around. However, be ambitious in Mapping a path for the Future of your Town. A plan might take 15 years or more to be fully realised but it keeps you on track and serves as a focal point around which all Local Development Plans can be framed.