In Livable Cities is Preservation of the Wild

In Livable Cities is
Preservation of the Wild

In Livable Cities is Preservation of the Wild
The Urban Greenspaces Institute is dedicated to ensuring that parks, trails, natural areas and healthy watersheds are integrated into our urban fabric and are accessible to everyone in the Portland-Vancouver metro area. Read More
In Livable Cities is Preservation of the Wild
The Urban Greenspaces Institute is dedicated to ensuring that parks, trails, natural areas and healthy watersheds are integrated into our urban fabric and are accessible to everyone in the Portland-Vancouver metro area. Read More
In Livable Cities is Preservation of the Wild
The Urban Greenspaces Institute is dedicated to ensuring that parks, trails, natural areas and healthy watersheds are integrated into our urban fabric and are accessible to everyone in the Portland-Vancouver metro area. Read More

The Urban Greenspaces Institute is dedicated to ensuring that parks, trails, natural areas and healthy watersheds are integrated into our urban fabric and are accessible to everyone in the Portland-Vancouver metro area.

The Urban Greenspaces Institute celebrates cities as great places to live and promotes the integration of the green infrastructure---our streams, wetlands, natural areas, urban forest, parks, and trails---as essential elements of high quality urban design. A vibrant, healthy green infrastructure is a precondition of building livable and ecologically sustainable neighborhoods, cities, and regions. Protecting, restoring and actively managing the green infrastructure preserves natural areas for fish and wildlife and provides access to nature in the city; enhances air and water quality; contributes to human health, fitness and psychological well-being.

If you have questions regarding the Urban Greenspaces Institute feel free to contact Institute founder and Director Mike Houck at mikehouck@urbangreenspaces.org or 503-319-7155.

Urban conservation is challenged by fragmented governance and the lack of a collaborative workspace.

A shifting climate is placing new demands on old institutions and infrastructure, creating intersectional opportunities to address affordable housing, de-carbonize transportation, and re-frame urban greenspaces as a crucial climate adaptation solution.

The ‘shared vision’ for regional conservation is incomplete and dated It is silent on inequities in access to and benefits from urban nature and green infrastructure.

Build coalitions to foster policy innovations and investment that align nature conservation with housing, transportation, urban design, and utility management at local and regional scales, to provide a model for the nation.

Create collaborative workspaces that: align partners, build collective strategies, and marshall resources to address pressing conservation needs

Lead projects that address regional conservation gaps: mapping habitat, and piloting new approaches.

Address environmental injustice by lifting up and providing a platform for new conservation leaders, including BIPOC-led initiatives that shift power away from white dominance in the environmental field.