Spring Cleaning, Mapped
There’s something about spring in New York City that feels like a reset. Longer days, warmer nights, and watching daffodils bloom makes everything feel a little more alive. It’s also the time when people start thinking about cleaning - opening windows, putting the winter coat in storage, and shaking off the weight of a heavy snow season.
But spring cleaning shouldn’t just happen inside. It can show up on our streets too.
You start to notice it more this time of year. A stray coffee cup tucked near a tree bed. An overflowing trash can on a busy corner. The small things that were easy to overlook in the winter suddenly stand out when people are outside more, walking more, and spending more time in their neighborhoods.
Working in community development, a lot of what we do is about paying attention to those details. Clean streets, accessible trash cans, and well-maintained public spaces all play a role in how a neighborhood feels.
It also raises a few questions: where can we find all the trash cans? And where are the gaps?
That’s where mapping comes in.
Maps aren’t just for showing boundaries or land zoning (boring…). They can help us understand what’s missing. In this case, something as simple as the location of trash cans can tell a bigger story about how a space functions day to day.
So in the spirit of spring cleaning, we’re trying something a little different.
I’ve created a shared Google My Maps where anyone can drop a pin to mark a trash can in their neighborhood! Over time, this can become a simple, community-driven way to visualize where infrastructure exists and where there may be opportunities to improve. And it's a great way to start off the spring season!
If you’re out enjoying the warmer weather, take a moment to notice your surroundings. And if you feel like contributing, add a pin. It’s a simple way to help keep our neighborhoods a little cleaner this spring.
Here’s my contribution from my home neighborhood of Sunnyside!
