At the end of May 1976, Vancouver was abuzz with the opening of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, the largest UN conference at that time. Focusing attention on the city, the conference drew 10,000 people from 150 countries, a big event for small Vancouver. Luminaries in attendance were Margaret Mead, Mother Teresa, Buckminster Fuller, Paolo Soleri, Pierre Trudeau, etc. Habitat Forum, a parallel utopian gathering of non-governmental organizations was organized by community activist Alan Clapp and others. For this, thousands of volunteers and local artists transformed the former army base at Jericho Beach into an extraordinary “happening.” The conference closed on June 11th but a strong if often unacknowledged legacy remained.