STEW-MAP in the New York City Region

The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) began in 2007 as a way to understand and map civic capacity to care for the environment across New York City. In 2017, we implemented a ten-year update to STEW-MAP in New York City's five boroughs and expanded it to the larger metropolitan area as a regional pilot survey. In this report, we share our preliminary findings about the civic stewardship groups working to care for the local environment through conservation, monitoring, management, transformation, education, and advocacy. The data presented include organizational characteristics, collaboration networks, and geographic turf. The results from the STEW-MAP survey show that civic environmental stewardship is a vital force in the neighborhoods of New York City and the surrounding region. Combined, the respondent stewardship groups represent an estimated 540,000 members and staff, working in every borough and county and with budgets totaling approximately $800 million. This capacity is spread across groups from different sectors including public health, social services, transportation, education, housing and faith-based organizations. They work at different geographic and professional scales, but many share the goal of improving their communities. The work of civic stewardship groups impacts not only the physical environment but the social fabric of the places they live. This report highlights some key findings, and also points to further research questions to consider for future publications.