Chattanoogans Put Their City On The Map In 3D

Putting Chattanooga on the Map- in 3D, a.k.a. C3D, is one of the first citizen-inspired initiatives to emerge from Chattanooga STAND, one of the largest community visioning processes in history.

Building on STAND's call to start something, C3D will launch Friday at 48HourLaunch, a groundbreaking event to be hosted at Chattanooga's CreateHere.

The goal of C3D is to bring the Chattanooga downtown and region to life in Google Earth for everyone to enjoy. Local entrepreneur and sponsor, Stephen Culp, says the idea is quickly taking on a life of its own. "It's becoming clearer every day that this project can make our city more accessible to all kinds of people and organizations, including local residents, public officials, artists, planners, tourists, architects, developers, and businesspeople. As a result, the project will likely be staged in layers corresponding to Chattanooga's uniquely diverse architecture, downtown art, attractions, businesses, parks, greenways, and more."

The C3D project also continues to take on new volunteers and partners. Initially inspired by collaborative spirit of Chattanooga STAND, Mr. Culp has seen volunteers emerge from the local design, architectural, academic, and entrepreneurial communities, as well as early partners in organizations like RiverCity, CreateHere, 48HourLaunch, and Smart Furniture.

On the 3D front, the team will be supported by the Google Sketchup/3D design team from Smart Furniture led by Karen Liwanpo, and the expertise of Chris Wilson, who led a similar and successful effort with the Main Street McMinnville project.

The C3D project will launch at 48HourLaunch (48HL), an event itself launched by three Tennessee-based entrepreneurial organizations-- Springboard, Knoxville Overground, and Launch Memphis. The event will kick off Global Entrepreneurship Week, and, according to local organizer Sheldon Grizzle of Springboard, is a "blitz-idea-incubator" based around collaborative creativity.

Mr. Grizzle adds, "It will be a chance for entrepreneurs, project managers, web developers, pr and marketing minds, strategists, designers, and writers, to come together to do the unthinkable- create and launch real businesses and sustainable initiatives in 48 hours."

The team will initially meet at CreateHere, 55 E. Main St. Friday at 6 p.m. For volunteers interested but who can't make it Friday, C3D will continue through the 48HourLaunch on Saturday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sunday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. If you can't make the weekend, still contact C3D-- this will be a long-term project.

The C3D team invites anyone interested to join the team of volunteers to be part of this launch, including Google SketchUp users, photographers, and other creative folks. Bring a laptop and camera if available-- the team will be indoors and around the city, photographing, drawing, and "pushing up" the city in 3D.