Quiet, No Wake Zone For Holgate Channel and Ross Island

Wild in the City Field Trips - Exploring Regional Greenspaces by Kayak, Bike and Foot

Willamette Riverfest, August 28 through September 7th, Urban Greenspaces Institute Bicycle, Kayak and Hiking Field Tours

Vaux’s Swift Events: Swift Watch and Movie Release: “On the Wing” Premier, Cinema 21, October 2nd

East County Urban Tree Summit, October 4th, 2008

Urban Green, A Radio Documentary on Green Planning in Portland.

"A quiet park is the point" - Letter to the Editor by UGI Director regarding Tanner Springs Park

Regional Planning

Connecting Green Vision—The World’s Greatest Regional Parks, Trails, and Natural Areas System

The Institute has been engaged in regional growth management, parks, trails, and natural areas planning since its founding in 1999. Our current involvement at the regional scale is to help implement the region’s Connecting Green Vision of creating the world’s greatest regional parks, trails and natural areas system. The Institute’s Director, Mike Houck, was a member on Metro’s Greenspaces Policy Advisory Committee and was an active participant in drafting a vision for a bi-state, regional system of parks, trails, and natural areas: Greenspaces Policy Advisory Committee, Vision, outcomes, objectives and means which was adopted by the Metro Council in March, 2005.

The adopted vision states: “We envision an exceptional, multi-jurisdictional, interconnected system of neighborhood, community, and regional parks, natural areas, trails, open spaces, and recreation opportunities distributed equitably throughout the region. This region-wide system is acknowledged and valued here and around the world as an essential element of the greater Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area’s economic success, ecological health, civic vitality, and overall quality of life.

As the region grows and develops, this region-wide system also expands, diversifies, and matures to meet the needs of a growing and changing population. All residents live and work near and have access – regardless of income – to nature, areas for recreation and leisure, and public spaces that bring people together and connect them to their community.

This region-wide system of parks, natural areas, trails, open spaces, and recreation opportunities:

  • Drives the region’s economy and tourist trade
  • Preserves significant natural areas for wildlife habitat and public use
  • Enhances the region’s air and water quality
  • Promotes citizens’ health, fitness, and personal well-being
  • Connects the region’s communities with trails and greenways
  • Provides sense of place and community throughout the region
  • Supports an ecologically sustainable metropolitan area

The Institute’s Director Mike Houck chaired the Greenspaces Policy Advisory Committee natural landscape features working group that developed the natural landscape features map that depicts the regional natural areas system from Clark County’s North Fork Lewis River in the North, south to Salem in the Willamette Valley and from the crest of the coast range to the crest of the Cascades. 

Connecting Green Alliance

The Institute is a founding member of the Connecting Green Alliance, a coalition of government, business, and nonprofit groups dedicated to ensuring the vision for the world’s greatest parks, trails, and natural areas system for the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region is realized.

Core members of the Alliance include the Urban Greenspaces Institute, Trust for Public Land, Audubon Society of Portland, Metro, and the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services and Portland Parks and Recreation. The Alliance’s mission is to:

  • Network: The Alliance is a fertile ground for collaboration.
  • Communicate: Develop an identity package that creates a consistent and compelling message and brand.
  • Advocate: identify and support key issues and projects.
  • Mobilize: issue calls to action and organize supporters.

Urban and Rural Reserves Planning

Metro, the nation’s only directly elected regional government, has the responsibility to plan for future growth and where that growth will occur. The Urban and Rural Reserves Planning process will identify those areas around our current Urban Growth Boundary where future urbanization should occur (Urban Reserves) as well as those areas where farm, forest and natural areas are so important that future Urban Growth Boundary expansions should not be allowed over the next fifty to one-hundred years (Rural Reserves).

The same natural landscape features map created for the regional parks, trails, and natural areas system is being used to delineate the region’s most important landscape features and where Rural Reserves should be designated. Mike Houck sits on Metro’s Reserves Steering Committee and continues to continue providing input on the Institute’s priorities for exclusion of important natural landscape features from Urban Reserves and where Rural Reserves should be located.

 

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