Mike Houck
Director
mikehouck@urbangreenspaces.org
Mr. Houck has been a leader at the local, regional, national and international levels in urban park and greenspace issues since 1980 when he founded the Urban Naturalist Program at the Audubon Society of Portland. He has co-founded several regional, national and international coalitions focused on nature in the city including: Coalition for a Livable Future (CLF); The national Coalition to Restore Urban Waters (CRUW); The Intertwine Alliance (www.theintertwine.org); and the international forum, The Nature of Cities (www.thenatureofcities.com)
Mike founded the Urban Greenspaces Institute in 1999. The Institute’s motto: In Livable Cities is the Preservation of the Wild speaks to his philosophy that it is only by creating cities that are livable and loveable, cities with easy access to nature and a high quality of life, that the rural landscape and more pristine environments will be conserved.
Mike co-edited Wild in the City, a Guide to Portland’s Natural Areas and Wild in the City, Exploring The Intertwine. He has been recognized for his leadership in the urban greenspaces movement by the City of Heidelberg, Germany; the National Wetlands Conservation Award, Environmental Law Institute; as a Loeb Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard University; “Honorary ASLA” Fellow by the National American Society of Landscape Architects; National Garden Club of America’s, Frances K. Hutchinson Medal and designated by Portland State University as an Urban Pioneer