Midtown Wednesdays

GreenCityBlueLake: Change Infrastructure

GreenCityBlueLake represents a re-branding process of the region to help the larger community to think about sustainbility in a broader way.

EcoCity provides services and frameworks for the region. EcoCity is working with regional organizations with community development, watershed awareness...part of EcoCity's mission is to tell the story of all of the wonderful things going on in the region.

About one year ago, David and the community explored different ways of telling the story of all of the sustainability activities going on in the region. The Brain.com is one of the platforms and this is still accessible on GCBL.org. GreenCityBlueLake now resides on a Drupal platform. The intent is to leverage GCBL as a larger umbrella context - a tool - to guide the community discussion about how do we transform the region by asking the tough questions and simultaneously move the conversations forward?

The web site looks at 11 different areas of sustainability; as well as multiple functionalities. The site includes a regional calendar, discussion threads, blog entries, photo albums, etc.

There is a blizzard of sustainability activities going on in the region; this site will begin to assemble and build community knowledge assets so that the knowledge can be redistributed back into the community.

The platform will help to strengthen all existing efforts. EcoCity Cleveland will agressively encourage others to get involved. For individuals all that is required to participate is to log on and obtain a user and password ID. Over the next month blank pages will be put up encouraging discussion and participation.

GCBL creates a context for people to contribute their knowledge. The current focus is broad categories in sustainability and what will move the region forward.

Question: How will GreenCityBlueLake move beyond the sustainability community? How can one leverage activities?

David Beach: NEO needs to have a climate change plan. Our business community should be thinking about this. Does the Greater Cleveland Partnership have a climate change plan? What could be done and where are the innovative opportunities? EcoCity will do strategic outreach to reach leadership and educate.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development does excellent work convening NGO's to collaborate strategically with a heavy focus on how to reach out to decision makers. We need to empower others to assist in making good decisions for the region that may not have been made in the past.

We can ask: How is work taking place across the region related? How are the different investments coordinated?

An opportunity is to begin working with the nonprofit community and identifying ways of collaborating to improve efficiencies.

David was involved in helping the City to acquire a Sustainability Director. This will have a significant affect in a large way. This is where we need to be spending our energies. We need to ask ourselves where is the energy out there for sustainability?

Each category will have a justice side of things. This is an appreciative approach.

GCBL hopes to educate people - such as Voices and Choices - with how do we address sustainability? Bumper stickers and stickers will identify entities that are aware of green. The spirit of the site is to be not just cheerleaders but what will help others to envision what the future needs to be doing?

The site seeks to inform and encourage people to visualize the future.

What encourage you to participate? Specific topics; other people doing stuff that I might be interested in; event promotions; encouraging others to link; email syndication; creative digital media integration; posting pictures of what people like; What about gaming applications?; RSS feeds?

Look at Big Planning Projects. For example: no one seems to be addressing air quality or energy. The GCBL site includes targeted communication campaigns. Google maps is automatically connected to event locations.

What are the next steps? How can this be applied to innovations in industry?

For fun: Visit Music genome and pandora.com

posted by Unknown @ 3/08/2006