Cape Town Green Map launches on World Environment Day
The City of Cape Town, in partnership with Urban Sprout and A&C Maps, is “virtually” launching the web-based Cape Town Green Map on World Environment Day, Friday 05 June 2009.
As one of a handful of cities worldwide situated within a National Park, and with a uniquely rich biodiversity, Cape Town is well positioned to spearhead a Green Map on the African continent.
The Green Map promotes a fresh view of the city's environment and aims to remind residents and visitors to enjoy their local environment close to home. It is a showcase of ways in which to live, work and play in order to reduce our impact on the fragile ecosystems within the city.
Says Arné Purves, project manager from the City of Cape Town Environmental Resource Management Department: “The map aims to promote responsible tourism as well as to create an incentive to the city's commercial sector to become more environmentally aware. We want to see the city's business sector adopting 'green' and sustainable practices and operating procedures.”
The website www.capetowngreenmap.co.za, which is already live in beta version, will launch officially on 05 June in conjunction with the launch of www.opengreenmap.org,
Open Green Map is an interactive online mapmaking tool that allows mapmakers to share sites such as: nature reserves, green spaces, sustainable living projects, alternative energy sites, recycling projects and drop-offs, local green events, farmers' markets, organic eateries, responsible tourism, green accommodation, eco products and services, green attractions, alternative energy sites and more.
The award-winning icons, which are also ostensibly the world's only universal symbol set for maps, make each Green Map easy to explore, regardless of the language and culture of the viewer.
Says Glen Adams of Urban Sprout, one of the key team players behind the online map: “Using Open Green Map means that Cape Town Green Map is a direct, democratic communication of local knowledge and action. It has collaboration as its main ethos.”
The association with the global network created by Open Green Map provides a powerful platform from which to promote greener lifestyle choices to inform residents and visitors alike of the Mother City’s wealth of sustainable resources.
The site is your easy point of entry to what green Cape Town has to offer. Over and above the interactive map it has many additional features:
- A news service that focuses on green issues and local green content
- An annual green events calendar
- The facility for anyone to suggest new sites (places) based on a set of international criteria established by Open Green Map
- A regular newsletter
- The facility to sign on as a map maker
- Links to other key sites such as Table Mountain National Park, Cape Town Partnership, Accelerate Cape Town etc.
It is a highly visible way to showcase ‘green Cape Town’. And anyone can add comments, pictures and videos to the listings on the map, which also makes it highly accessible. There are already a series of map makers contributing to the success of the project, and listings go up on an almost daily basis. It is by no means a finished product, but a constantly evolving one.
The printed Cape Town Green Map
A printed version of the Cape Town Green Map will be published in October 2009 and updated annually. While the website provides a dynamic and interactive opportunity to engage with ‘green Cape Town’, the print map provides a handy snap-shot for easy reference. This user-friendly map will help you find places of particular interest whether it’s a national park, local organic market, the sites of waste recycling plants, or cycle and walking trails.
Says Philip Todres of A&C Maps, who produces a number of printed maps for Cape Town: “The Cape Town Green Map will be a handy guide that will make greener choices more accessible and more meaningful.”
Note to editors:
Cape Town Green Map was initiated as a project by the Host City Cape Town's Green Goal 2010 Action Plan, the environmental programme for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. It is a legacy project that will continue post 2010 as an invaluable source of information for visitors, residents and the commercial sector.
Cape Town Green Map joins over 350 Green Map cities in 50 countries on www.greenmap.org
. One of the goals of the project is to produce the most informative and visually pleasing Green Map to date!
The team behind the creation of both the online and printed map are the City of Cape Town Environmental Resource Management Department, Urban Sprout (www.urbansprout.co.za)
and A&C maps. For more about the team see http://www.capetowngreenmap.co.za/the-team
For more information about Cape Town Green Map - http://www.capetowngreenmap.co.za/about
To suggest further sites for inclusion on the map - http://www.capetowngreenmap.co.za/suggest-a-site
To sign up for the newsletter or to become a map maker - http://www.capetowngreenmap.co.za/user/register
