GeoGreen Mapper - An Interactive Green Map for Alachua County, Florida

The GIS  Division at the Department of Growth Management, under the Board of Commissioners of Alachua County, has developed GeoGreen - an Interactive Green Map for Alachua County. Green Maps are local maps which chart natural, cultural, and civic community resources in green living. With GeoGreen, located at http://maps.alachuacounty.us/geogreen, Alachua County joins the global movement of over five hundred cities, towns and villages who engage in various ways of Green Mapping their community.

The GeoGreen Mapper provides access to over forty map layers of green infrastructure and green living and to important related countywide studies. Users can interactively create their own maps on the web picking and choosing what layers to use. Pictures, web sites, and descriptive information are all integrated with each map layer. Some of the map layers are regulatory, such as the preservation lands, others can be created online by the users. A few map layers are updated in real time on the web as part of the county’s daily operations. All map layers are grouped into three main categories:

-    Green Pathways, such as scenic roads, trails, bicycle paths and bicycle facilities, low speed roads, etc.

-    Conservation and Recreation, such as preservation lands, strategic ecosystems, priority ecological areas, champion trees, etc.

-    Green and Cultural Preservation Living, such as farmer markets, plant nurseries, recycle centers, thrift stores, libraries, historic structures, historic markers, bike stores, parks and gardens, natural food stores, etc.

GeoGreen also displays for the first time in the history of Alachua County, locations of Solar Panel permits issued over the years. The Solar Panel map layer updates in real time while county staff issues Solar Permits as part of their building permitting operations.

GeoGreen is a database driven participatory web Mapper. It provides for public input in registering and mapping of Green Buildings, connecting live to the Alachua County's building permits database. Anyone from the public can enter a permit number and then either upload an image of their Green Building Certificate or enter other information that shows green features used in their building. After the upload of this information, they can immediately view their Green Building location plotted live on GeoGreen. Upon the validation of this information by county staff, the location of this Green Building becomes part of the countywide Green Buildings map layer. This process provides for the creation of uniquely valuable information which has never existed in Alachua County. Furthermore, this is made possible with almost no county resources, as the data is being created by the public. The Green Buildings interface is located at http://cpd.alachuacounty.us/cdweb/permitting/green/.

A number of important countywide studies relevant to Green Living, are also integrated with the GeoGreen Mapper. These studies include a Bicycle Master Plan, a Recreation Master Plan, a Waterways Master Plan, a study from the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, etc.

Conscious that Internet penetration, according to the latest study from the PEW Center, has not yet reached more than 73% of the American adults, we decided to also develop a brochure version of the GeoGreen and make it available in paper and online at: http://maps.alachuacounty.us/geogreen/greenmapalachuacounty.pdf.

Background
An Energy Conservation Strategies Commission was created in Alachua County and it was tasked “To draft a comprehensive report on energy use, its relationship to climate change and local socio-economic impacts, including actions that can be implemented by the Board of County Commissioners and the community at large.” This