Although 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is now only a fond memory, it did leave a few legacy projects that have benefitted Cape Town in its wake. The Cape Town Green Map is one such project that has kept up the Soccer World Cup momentum by growing its readership via print and web media.

Now in its third edition, the print map has been very well received and has been distributed far and wide, including at COP 17 in Durban, and in New York and Brisbane, Australia! The cover of the third edition features the Mayor of Cape Town on a bicycle. The map has a strong sustainability focus and includes strategic branding for the Climate Smart Cape Town Campaign, ahead of the COP 17 conference in Durban. The map also made its way to COP 17 via the Climate Train! The print edition focusses on Cape Town’s pressing environmental and sustainability issues, and centres on public transport, waste and recycling and biodiversity.read more »

Janice Golding argues that Africa needs to cultivate environmental champions and high-thinkers who live by the heart, relate to the land and who can articulate an alternative indigenous environmental narrative to the western environmental neo-imperialism.

On continents that are colder and less giving than Africa, the fastest growing new mass religion is “Environmentalism”. Climate change and sustainability are its key drivers.

“Environmentalism” (also called “Going Green”) is an earnest lifestyle for it is fervent in the endeavour of reducing carbon footprints. Household examples are fruit and vegetable gardens, recycling, solar panels and the reduced use of motorised transport. But its safety net for personal well-being that is ensured by relatively prosperous economies makes this movement a holier-than-thou quest. This is because Going Green is not a fundamental necessity born out of poverty and survival as in most parts of Africa.read more »

Table Mountain could be named one of the New7Wonders of Nature, an accolade that could generate up to 11 000 new jobs and an additional R1.4 billion in annual revenue for South Africa.

The only way to win is to steal the largest chunk of citizen votes from the over 1 billion people who will take part in the campaign worldwide. To win that honour Table Mountain needs to beat 27 other admired and celebrated sites such as the Islands of Maldives, the Amazon in South America, the Dead Sea in Israel and the Grand Canyon in North America.

The announcement of the seven sites on 11/11/11 (11 November 2011) will bring to a close a battle which has spanned more than three years.read more »

It has been a very busy few months. The Cape Town Green Map team has just finished and printed its 3rd Edition of its Green Map. We even managed to get the City's Mayor to pose for the cover. Added to that we have redesigned our website layout and content structure, see Cape Town Green Map.

We also had two international interns join us for 3 months to assist with the project. Line and Mari really got stuck in and helped us with many aspects of the project, including our website redesign, a customer survey of all green sites, they held a small work group with green map participants and they also provided us with a project report on how we can improve our Cape Town Green Map Project.read more »

VOTE FOR TABLE MOUNTAIN TODAY

Table Mountain is one of only 28 natural sites from around the globe shortlisted to be named one of the Official New7Wonders of Nature.

From an initial list of 440 magnificent natural sites nominated in 2008, Table Mountain was voted onto a list of 77 sites prior to being selected for the final shortlist of 28 finalists in July 2009.

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Table Mountain National Park and Cape Town Tourism have formed an official supporting committee to champion the mountain’s cause. Table Mountain needs approximately 30 million votes to secure a top 7 spot.read more »

Bring the Cape Town Green Map to life using Google Earth & Street View. You can explore the sites in 3D, look at them using Streetview and bring a new dimension to how you experience the CapeTown Green Map.

Instructions:
1. Download and install Google Earth on your local PC
2. Download the .zip file from our Cape Town Green Map blogpost and save it to your local machine. extract the contents ( cape_town_greenmap.kml) to your local machine. To extract the file Select it -Right Click - Extract All.read more »

We were very happy that our parcel made it to the Green Map office in New York and hope that as many map makers as possible can get a copy of our map.

"so happy to find such a nice big box of your cool maps and great materials on the environment and sustainability programs there, Arne and Philip! wonderful - we have already send copies down to Uraguay and today, Puerto Rico. I also left the copies I had in Japan - inspriing for people there! much appreciated, Wendy"

You can also download an electronic copy:Here

Read the article by Dr Janice Golding, an Honorary Research Associate (Botany) at the University of Cape Town who is also the author of Extinction by Design: plant ecology, species extinction and taxonomy in south-central Africa

The Cape Town Green Map recently surpassed the 300 listings mark! This is a great achievement! We also received some super coverage on CNN, with the Green Cab's, Amiene van der Merwe including the Cape Town Green Map in her interview with CNN's Inside Africa! What a great contribution from the Green Cab Team!
The CNN Inside Africa Interview

The 24 November 2009 was the launch of the print version of the Cape Town Green Map - a user-friendly, handy guide that makes green choices both accessible and meaningful.
The print map is a fresh take on the Mother city's natural environment, reminding visitors and residents to live, work and play responsibly in order to reduce human impact on our fragile ecosystems.

Whilst the website is a dynamic and interactive way to engage with 'green Cape Town', the print map is an easy-to-hold snapshot in time for easy reference. All of the sites have been handpicked from a far greater availability on the online version of the map – not an easy task, considering there are now over 250 of them.read more »

The Cape Town Green Map has reached the 200 listings mark! This is an exciting time as we embark on compiling our printed Green Map. Our website receive a considerable boost in traffic after we placed adverts recently, in the local and community papers, urging residents to participate in the project. Our funding has received a small boost and this will allow us to sustain the project for a further 12 months, while it gathers momentum and ultimately becomes selfsustaining!

Cape Town Green Map currently has 167 sites listed and is growing steadily. The project team decided that it was neccessary to inform the residents of Cape Town about the project and the availability of free listings on the Cape Town Green Map. Adverts were placed in several local papers with City wide distribution!
We are about to embark on the production of the printed Green Map for Cape Town, which promises to be an exciting process! We are also producing some marketing media for inclusion in several media packs that will be used leading up to the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup.

We have also received extensive media coverage! The most notable being TV coverage on CNBC Africa, who aired two different clips on the Cape Town Green Map!read more »

The Cape Town Green Map - www.capetowngreenmap.co.za isn’t just a bunch of intersecting lines and street names. Rather it is the heart of the city, a green life-force, which sends out information via the numerous vessels and networks of the internet.

As with all maps, it provides direction – but with a difference.

No other map has attempted to chart and detail the city of Cape Town from a green angle before. The map can be used to make greener lifestyle choices, and help people to make more informed decisions on how to live sustainably. It is also different because it is on-going, evolving and constantly being updated.read more »

The website - www.capetowngreenmap.co.za goes live in beta version on 30 March. The team is happy with its progress, although there are still a few things to iron out before the official launch of the site, such as the slide show, which remains static but will function as a dynamic slide show featuring pictures from the map and Cape Town.

In the meantime there is synergy between Cape Town's green map and the official launch of the Open Green Map system. Both are set to launch on 5 June 2009, World Environment Day!

The Cape Town Green map team begin actively sourcing and approaching partners and sponsors, who are overwhelmingly positive about the map, particularly as there is a focus on South Africa for 2010. This despite the current downward trend of the economy. It appears that whilst business is feeling the squeeze, the effort to green (or blue) our planet is still a priority.read more »

Our logo is designed, selected and finalised (after much debate), and the team begins work on the website and blog. At the same time, work begins on adding sites to the online map, as yet not viewable by Capetonians and other general public but accessible by mapmakers around the world.

Initial content is written for the website and the first blog or two are on standby for 'go live'! Finding iconic pictures to represent Cape Town for the website header pictures has presented something of a challenge. One which the team feels more than capable of meeting!

The team begins talks with initial interested sponsors. They appear very enthusiastic about the project. The team is busy putting together a proposal for sponsors that includes prospective press offices (press releases about events, products and ventures) and advertising potential (web buttons/banners) on www.capetowngreenmap.co.za (not yet live).read more »

The City of Cape Town gives the go-ahead to A&C maps and urban sprout to begin work on producing a Cape Town Green Map for the Mother City. The team is to create both an online and a printed map later this year that will act as a doorway to all that is green in the mother city. This will position Cape Town as the green city in South Africa.

Cape Town’s Green Map will likewise promote and encourage sustainable living practices and care for the environment.read more »