Sustainable Living with Green Maps

With your generous support we were able to finalize our set of 170 Green Map Icons in February 2008. Version 3 of this award-winning iconography reflect an inclusive process initiated five years ago at Italy’s Bellagio Centre during our first Global Green Mapmakers Gathering. Icon designs, titles and usage were discussed online and in meetings within our network of over 450 diverse Green Map projects in 50 countries. We reviewed how these globally designed universal icons have been utilized on outreach and education materials in addition to printed, digital, workshop and classroom maps since 1995. We also took into account the urban and rural ‘local icons’ created to enrich Version 2. As we moved toward the final phase, we invited the public’s input through our Icon Open Studio, both online and in NYC, to guarantee that this collaboration would create the best possible results.

In Version 3 we created our own icon 'pattern language' to guide design choices. We refined the iconography's twelve categories and extended the set with more climate change, activism, justice, green enterprise, technology, outdoor activities and indoor greening icons. To aid navigation, we also added public works and landmarks.

At GreenMap.org/icons, you can download the Icon Poster, definitions, slideshow and more. This updated set has been honored by and exhibited at the Eyebeam Art & Technology Center, adding to Green Map System's list of awards, which include 1996’s Gold International Eco-Award, 1999’s US National Award for Sustainability, 2001 Technology Benefiting Humanity Laureate, and 2007’s US EPA Environmental Quality Award to name a few. Version 3 icons will be used in the interactive social mapping platform, the Open Green Map (debuting in Fall 2008). Additionally, locations such as Santiago, Bucharest, and Baltimore are among the first to have published Green Maps with this new iconography.

Our thanks to all participants and supporters over the past five years!