San Juan, Puerto Rico STEW-MAP
San Juan
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, two previous efforts have described the role of environmental and conservation organizations; however, these were focused mainly on agencies and formal NGOs and on conservation related groups. STEW-MAP provided a way to capture the wide range of civic groups and efforts of urban environmental stewardship in the city.
To implement STEW-MAP in San Juan, we followed the protocol previously developed by Svendsen and Campbell (2008) and Fisher et al. (2012). The survey, translated to fit the San Juan vernacular, was distributed to non-governmental and civic organizations that conducted stewardship activities, including those that plan, manage, conserve, study, defend, or educate the public on the local urban environment. The survey was administered primarily online, but also in person when appropriate, from October 2014 to January 2015.
Results indicate that civic organizations are playing a role in environmental stewardship while also collecting data and generating knowledge about the urban environment, land use, and environmental governance in San Juan. A total of 19 non-governmental organizations responded the survey, a 36% of our initial sample of 53 groups. Over half of the organizations that responded were NGOs with 501(c) (3). Twenty six percent of the organizations worked on environmental projects, (e.g., gardening, protection of green areas, water, and air, etc.), 16% work on education, and the rest work on projects related to community capacity-building, economic and social development, land use planning, or scientific research. The top services provided by the organizations include volunteer/student programs, community outreach, data management and dissemination, public policy, scientific research, and development of education curriculums. Organizations worked across a variety of urban spaces, with the top being on watersheds (67%), vacant buildings (63%), green areas in or around schools (63%), ocean fronts or beaches (60%), gardens (54%), public parks (54%), green areas in or around residential areas (50%), green buildings (50%), restoration areas (46%), and forests or arboretums (46%). The top areas of expertise found in the organizations included environmental administration, natural and social sciences, public and environmental education, community organizing, and public policy.
News, Events, and More
- April 29, 2021, The Nature of Cities
- February 26, 2021, The Nature of Cities Festival
- February 26, 2021, The Nature of Cities Festival
- December 20, 2020, Nature of Cities
- December 1, 2020, Nature of Cities
- December 1, 2020, The Nature of Cities
- September 24, 2020, The Nature of Cities Blog
Latest Publications
- STEW-MAP NYC User Research Report
- Strengthening Partnerships Across the Landscape - Bridger-Teton National Forest STEW-MAP 2021
- STEW-MAP Oʻahu: Survey Results of the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project 2019.
- Activating urban environments as social infrastructure through civic stewardship
- Working together: the roles of geographic proximity, homophilic organizational characteristics, and neighborhood context in civic stewardship collaboration networks in Philadelphia and New York City
- Context matters: influence of organizational, environmental, and social factors on civic environmental stewardship group intensity
- STEW-MAP in the New York City region: survey results of the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project June, 2019
- A Social-ecological framework for urban stewardship network research to promote sustainable and resilient cities June 9, 2017
- Toward an understanding of citywide urban environmental governance: An examination of stewardship networks in Baltimore and Seattle September 9, 2016
- Recognizing Stewardship Practices as Indicators of Social Resilience: In Living Memorials and in a Community Garden August 12, 2016
- Stewardship mapping and assessment project: a framework for understanding community-based environmental stewardship February 25, 2016
- Mixed methods analysis of urban environmental stewardship networks August 31, 2015