Houck in the House

On a cold Monday evening, Mike Houck brought his travelling ministry up the I-5 corridor to testify in front of the faithful (and hopefully a few converts) in the Bertha Landes Room in City Hall.

In a presentation that can only be described as mind-spinningly rapid fire, Houck walked through 25 years of Portland open space planning and transformation. For the Rose City, it isn't about sports or recreation areas, but is about the places where people can touch nature and about water quality healthy. A significant difference between Portland and Seattle: their streams aren't all buried; you can see, touch and feel them. Brillant! And the city is a cultural bastion in a forest: cayotes ride MAX trains, businessmen catch salmon from off the downtown waterfront, and citizens turn streets into gardens.

If we could get the elected officials, decision makers and key personnel down to Portland to experience some of these places, it would be conversion in an instant. Any organizations out there wanting to sponsor this?

Some links to Mr. Houck's work:
Coalition for a Liveable Future
Audobon Society Portland