Nature in the City
Nature in the City (NITC) is a San Francisco based non profit dedicated to environmental stewardship and education. In 2018, the organization released an artfully rich printed map celebrating the city’s changing urban habitat, its charismatic species, and the forces that shape the landscape.
As the project manager and cartographer, I worked with the multi-agency advisory board, fine artist, Jane Kim and author, Mary Ellen Hannibal to bring the map from concept to print.
FRONT 36" x 24'' acrylic on paper. Artist, Jane Kim, Designer, Leah Elamin, Content, Mary Ellen Hannibal, Cartography, Lindsay Irving. Data and Content: San Francisco Department of the Environment, SF Planning Department, The Presidio Trust, The National Park Service, Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, SF Public Library. @2018 Nature in the City
BACK 36" x 24'' acrylic on paper. Artist, Jane Kim, Designer, Leah Elamin, Content, Mary Ellen Hannibal, Cartography, Lindsay Irving. Data and Content: San Francisco Department of the Environment, SF Planning Department, The Presidio Trust, The National Park Service, Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, SF Public Library. @2018 Nature in the City
Artistic + Technical Challenge: The goal of the map was to inspire the general public to get out and discover nature right outside the door. However, distilling the story of Nature in the City onto a physical map was the most challenging task. The advisory board was made up of 8 agencies and organizations who contributed geospatial data, science, and opinions! After many planning sessions and workshops, we decided to reference the playful pictorial and thematic map styles of the past and allow our fine artist and author to distill the information into key stories told by a cast of charismatic species. We decided, the map has to be as beautiful as it is informative.
Role: As project manager and cartographer, my role was to organize the people and the data. I established a design and production schedule, facilitated regular advisory meetings and community-led feedback sessions (up to 90 participants, total). I conducted research and gathered geospatial datasets from various agencies; cleaning and validating the data with experts before handing off to the artist and graphic designer. I sourced a printing press and negotiated rates; managing the production of 50,000 color copies on time and within budget.
“Nature is a vital part of all our stories here in San Francisco. This map is bringing those stories to light and deepens the connections between urban and natural landscapes”
Impact: 50,000 copies of the map were distributed by Nature in the City through their website and environmental stewardship programs. The creative team and advisors were invited to speak at various events (SFMOMA, David Rumsey Map Center, Standford). The map was published in the Atlas of Design (Vol 5) of the North American Cartographic Information Society, 2020.