New York’s solidarity map

It's called Solidarity NYC and it is the digital map which allows you to locate all the activities based on mutualism in the Big Apple . Launched by a group of activists , artists and volunteers , some of whom , from the Occupy Wall Street movement , Solidarity NYC, is supported by the Sustainable Markets Foundation and aims to promote a more fair and secure economic model, which can be meet people’s needs by reinforcing the values of justice , environmental sustainability, cooperation and democracy. " If you're a consumer , most of the time you have to accept the effects of decisions made by others . " Says Lauren Hudson , coordinator of the project and Cooperative Finance Leader at Bethex , a credit union in the Bronx . "Knowing where the products we buy come from, who produces them it’s some sort of agreement with the community, to care for one another . "

The Solidarity map is divided into different categories , including food, transportation, banking , education, health and housing . Housing cooperatives, community gardens, schools and childcare services based on the cooperative model are included in the categories, such as Beyond Care Childcare, the cooperative founded by a group of immigrant women which trains and employs its members to become nannies and babysitters .

"The community -based mutualism has always existed to give people the opportunity to help , when resources are limited. " Says Hudson. The objective of Solidarity NYC is to connect this type of initiatives , making them more visible and giving them the chance to get out of their niche. 

According to Hudson a tool like Solidarity can be extremely useful in a big city such as New York, “you often feel disconnected from processes that affect your life in one way or in another."

Solidarity NYC is  a further stimulus to the vital social innovation scenario in New York.  Over the past months the city has become a testing ground for different projects.

New York University has devoted an entire program to social innovation, the city administration activated a social impact bonds project last year which saw Goldman Sachs invest $ 9.6 million in the rehabilitation and social reintegration of the boys of Rikers Island , the largest prison in the city. There will be a return on investment only if the reoffending rate will decrease by at least 10% .

And if Solidarity NYC aims to promote the activities of the so-called "solidarity economy" , collaboration keeps being a drive for many new business projects. The city can be considered the US capital of crowdfunding initiatives (Kickstarter was created in the Lower East Side) and co-working spaces continue to grow. The Centre for Social innovation , which is one of the most recent, is entirely dedicated to the promotion of social entrepreneurship .

The line between the economy of solidarity and the sharing economy is very thin, Hudson acknowledges it, however she thinks there is a difference: “ People have struggled with the precise definition of a solidarity economy, but it's perhaps more political than the term "sharing" implies.”