The first ever STEW-MAP survey was completed in NYC in 2007. Since the publication of the data, STEW-MAP has been used in NYC to support civic participation, increase neighborhoods’ social cohesion, and support requests for funding and programming. In 2015, STEW-MAP was replicated for waterfront-focused stewardship groups in the New York Harbor area, in collaboration with the Hudson River Foundation/Harbor Estuary Project (HRF/HEP).

In 2017, STEW-MAP was replicated in the New York City Region. This study was expanded to include the entire greater metropolitan area and added “transform” as a function. In this study, 55 partners served as data providers and 847 respondents were included in the research results. The data collected in the 2017 survey can be explored visually and spatially on the online map and dashboard.

Explore the 2017 map here!

What We Learned in New York City

STEW-MAP includes 720 groups with a combined budget of $5,301,875,991 and a total of approximately 633,000 people engaged as staff, volunteers, and members. Explore some of our findings below:

Stewards persists over time:

• Stewardship groups not only exist – they persist. They have evolved along with the social, political, economic, and environmental histories of our city.

Stewardship comes in all shapes and sizes:

• In NYC, stewardship territory ranges in scale from a single tree to a watershed, to an entire region. It varies in shape and can include rectangular lots, linear strips, curving shorelines, and blocky political districts. For some stewards, such as community gardeners, territory is the specific site where physical land management occurs. Other groups focus on advocacy across wider spatial scales — such as environmental justice groups running neighborhood air quality or green job campaigns.

More than just green….and not just urban:

• Stewardship groups don’t just focus on the environment. They hail from many different sectors, including public health, social services, transportation, education, and housing. Yet, these groups all share the belief that the environment can be a catalyst for social change. groups focus on transformation of waste, food, or energy systems, and therefore have multiple sites across the city. In addition, we found that many groups work beyond the boundaries of New York City and into the greater metropolitan region.

Stewards respond to disturbance:

• Stewardship is one of the ways that NYC communities respond to disturbances and stressors such as climate change, extreme weather, disinvestment and gentrification. This pattern has repeated over time here in New York City, with stewardship groups forming in response to the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, September 11th, Hurricane Sandy, and most recently, the COVID-19 crisis.

Stewards are agents of change: 

• Stewardship groups work on everything from restoring New York City’s oyster population, to protecting natural areas from development, to helping women get outside to exercise and form empowering friendships and civic ties. Taken together, these efforts can collectively transform our environment and communities.

The findings of this study along with highlights of the stories and impacts of New York City’s diverse network of stewards were presented in an exhibition at the Queens Museum in the Fall of 2019. This exhibit, entitled Who Takes Care of New York is now available to view and interact with online: https://www.thenatureofcities.com/friec/wtcony-2020/