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Environment development system and methods

Environment development system and methods description/claims

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/902,712 filed Feb. 22, 2007.

The present invention relates generally to the environment and more specifically to an environment development contest system and methods.

Some studies have shown that environments with a fresh, vibrant appearance attract more social support and are viewed as environments of choice for individuals as to where they desire to live or do business. An environment includes internal and external conditions, resources, and architecture with which a community interacts. For example, an environment in which a community interacts may be an urban region, rural region, city, town, suburb, state, or even a neighborhood.

For purposes of this application, a community is defined as a group of individuals united by some common interest, for example, publications such as books, magazines, journals, newspapers, or education, culture, entertainment, fraternity, club, faith, socioeconomic level, history, wealth, technology, employment, finance, and domicile to name a few.

Healthy and vibrant environments have similarities to living organisms through the need for ongoing nourishment, replenishment of energy and growth. Many environments lack the attributes of health and vibrancy; and many communities desire an environment with these attributes, but lack the motivation to initiate development. Motivation for a community to develop an environment is optimally desired to improve the health and vibrancy of the environment. A system and methods for environment development is needed. The present invention satisfies this demand.

The present invention is a contest system and methods offering an incentive to motivate a community to improve an environment through development. A contest is an event in which two or more participants compete against each other for a prize or similar incentive.

Development includes revitalizing the environment by improving structures—such as architectural structures including residential, commercial or industrial—for various benefits. For example, benefits include increasing property value, stabilizing the tax base, and improving the quality of life of a community.

For purposes of this application, a structure includes both the internal and external aspects of the structure, and can be, for example, a building, house, apartment, condominium, townhouse, garage, pole barn, shed or other out building and may even include infrastructure such as landscape, roads, streets, highways and bridges.

The contest system and methods identifies an environment including a plurality of structures, administers participation of improvements to the structures, and evaluates the improvements to disperse awards. It is contemplated that any or all of the contest method steps can be performed by a general computer system.

A general computer system according to the present invention includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and a memory hard disk, all interconnected by a system bus. The memory hard disk serves as a storage device and may further include a database.

An environment including one or more structures in need of improvement is identified. The environment may be of any size, for example, a neighborhood, subdivision, city, town, or suburb. According to the present invention, any number of structures within the environment is contemplated. It is also contemplated that the structures may be similar as well as dissimilar. Along with identifying the environment including structures, costs associated with the contest may be determined, such as administrative fees including postage, printing, copying, and staff time, as well as contest requirements defined, such as participant eligibility, rules, duration and deadlines, or any other contemplated contest requirements.

Participation in improving the structures is administered. Improvements include aesthetic and construction enhancements to the exterior of the structures themselves, as well as the surrounding area, such as landscape. Improvements may also include aesthetic and construction enhancements to the interior of the structures. Administering participation in improvements to the structures may also include conducting marketing and soliciting potential participants. For purposes of this application, participants execute the improvements to the structure and can be an individual or group of individuals within the community. Further, a participant may or may not have an interest in the structure to which they execute improvements.

Potential participants may be solicited by direct or indirect marketing such as visiting the participant, telemarketing, and distributing promotional material including direct mail, email, letters, forms, cards, articles, flyers, posters, press releases, and signs, to name a few. Participants may either agree or be selected to enter the contest. It is also contemplated that participants may receive a door prize for entering the contest.

Administering participation in improvements to the structures may also include consulting participants. Consulting participants includes planning the structure improvement effectively and economically, along with instructing participants to make significant and verifiable improvements to the structure. Administering participation also includes enforcing the contest requirements, for example, participant eligibility, rules, duration and deadlines.

The contest requires evaluation of the structures. Evaluation includes reviewing the structure before improvements and assessing the structure after the improvements. The structure is reviewed before improvements at one or more primary positions. Each primary position includes primary parameters such as a first angle and a first distance with respect to a base point of the structure. For example, a first primary position includes primary parameters of 45 degrees for the first angle and 50 feet for the first distance, each relative to a base point such as the front door, a window, or a light fixture of the structure. The second primary position includes primary parameters of 180 degrees for the first angle and 70 feet for the first distance, again relative to the base point.

The structure is assessed after improvements at one or more final positions. Each final position includes final parameters such as a second angle and a second distance with respect to a base point of the structure. Any primary and final parameter is contemplated, for example, color, height, square footage, or size. The primary position and final position may be documented in a record, such as a photograph, digital image or mental record.

The primary parameters of a primary position may correspond to the final parameters of a final position. Each structure subject to the contest is evaluated by analyzing corresponding primary positions and final positions to compute a degree of improvement in terms of how much the structure has changed. Analyzing the positions may be performed, for example, by a panel of judges, computer software, or a combination of both. The computed degree of improvement translates to a score. The score may be a value within a defined range, scale, or dimension. For example, the score can be equal, less than or greater than a value on a scale, for example a numerical scale of 1 through 10, with 10 defined as the highest score on the scale. It is contemplated that any method of scoring may be used.

All scores from each of the structures identified in the contest are then compared to assign a structure with a “win” status, otherwise referred to herein as a winning structure. It is contemplated any number of structures may be assigned a “win” status.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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