Links

The Urban Greenspaces Institute is actively involved in numerous issues related to urban parks- trails- and Greenspaces planning. The following are links to some of the agencies- programs- and events that relate to the Institute's work:

Connecting Green Alliance: The Institute is a founding member of the Connecting Green Alliance- a coalition of nonprofit organizations such as Trust for Public Land- Audubon Society of Portland and the Urban Greenspaces Institute; public agencies such as Metro- Portland Parks and Recreation- and Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services.

The ad hoc Ross Island Vision Team consists of the Institute- Audubon Society of Portland- Willamette Riverkeeper- and GreenWorks- PC.

Metro- the only directly elected regional government in the United States. Mike Houck sits on Metro's Reserves Steering Committee which makes recommendations to Metro Council on issues related to future expansions of the region's Urban Growth Boundary.

The Institute is also a member organization of the Coalition for a Livable Future- which Mike Houck helped found in 1994. Mike currently serves on the Coalition's board of directors.

City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) watershed planning program. The Institute works closely with BES staff on urban stormwater management issues.

Mike Houck was appointed by the City of Portland to represent the Institute on Portland's Office of Sustainable Development and Multnomah County's joint Sustainable Development Commission.

The City of Portland and Multnomah County are noted for their green building- energy conservation- solid waste reduction- and green house gas emission reduction programs. The Institute's role on the commission is to ensure ecosystem- park and greenspace issues are integrated into the city's and county's nationally and internationally renowned sustainable development policies and programs.

Portland State University- Geography Department. Mike Houck is an adjunct instructor in PSU's Geography Department- where he teaches and works closely with Dr. Joe Poracsky and others on issues related to urban natural resources. The Institute's offices are in the department's Center for Spatial Analysis and` Research.

Urban Naturalist publication

Audubon Society of Portland- 10-000 member chapter of National Audubon Society- the largest chapter in the United States.

Rud Platt- Director- Ecological Cities Project. Mike Houck sits on the advisory board for the Ecological Cities Project- Amherst Massachusetts. He has worked with Ecological Cities director- Dr. Rutherford Platt- on issues related to urban ecology at the national level.

Wild in the City, Exploring The Intertwine Launched!

Wild in the City, Exploring The Intertwine has launched!
Go to Audubon Society of Portland website

Oregon Public Broadcasting features Portland Memorial Mausoleum mural project

On April 15th OPB's Art Beat Program ran a 10 minute special feature on the 50,000 square foot wetland mural that the Urban Greenspaces Institute collaborated with ArtFX Murals to produce on the Portland Memorial Mausoleum overlooking 160-acre Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. Click here to view OPBs video.

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Fifth Principle of Urban Design: Build lighter, greener, smarter, cheaper. Every dollar spent on pavement creates one dollar's worth of damage to the environment.

Patrick Condon, University of British Columbia; Chair, Landscape and Livable Environments

Ross Island Vision Team: Envisioning Ross Island

The Institute has produced, with its partners at the Willamette Riverkeeper, Audubon Society of Portland, Greenworks landscape architecture, architects, and landscape architects a plan for Ross Island,Envisioning Ross Island (PDF), which lays out scenarios for how Ross and its sister islands Hardtack, East and Toe, might be managed as a unit with the Holgate Channel and the 160-acre city-owned Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge as an urban wildlife refuge complex, public natural area park, and place to contemplate nature in the heart of downtown Portland.