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Peter Newman (Australian)
Encyclopedia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. He is currently Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and since 2008 member of Infrastructure Australia
Infrastructure Australia
Infrastructure Australia is a statutory authority of the Commonwealth Government. Its role is to plan and co-ordinate infrastructure projects across Australia, particularly where the works cross state borders. It was established in 2008....
.
He has a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree in Chemistry (1972, University of Western Australia) and completed post doctoral studies in Environmental Science
Environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...
, Delft University
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology , also known as TU Delft, is the largest and oldest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands...
, Dip EST, Environmental Science, 1972.
Peter Newman is best known internationally for popularizing the term ‘automobile dependence
Automobile dependency
Automobile dependency is a term coined by Professors Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy to capture the predicament of most cities in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and to a lesser extent, large cities in Europe....
’ in the second half of the 1980s. He was closely associated with the redevelopment of Perth's rail system from 1979 to the present, which is now seen as a model for how car dependent cities can change towards more sustainable transport. He is author of numerous publications on sustainable cities
Sustainable city
A sustainable city, or eco-city is a city designed with consideration of environmental impact, inhabited by people dedicated to minimization of required inputs of energy, water and food, and waste output of heat, air pollution - CO2, methane, and water pollution...
.
Career and influence
Peter Newman is best known internationally for popularizing the term ‘automobile dependenceAutomobile dependency
Automobile dependency is a term coined by Professors Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy to capture the predicament of most cities in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and to a lesser extent, large cities in Europe....
’ in the second half of the 1980s to explain how the cities of the time based on sprawling suburbs were inevitably leading to the growth in automobile use. (The term had actually existed since 1911.) He led an international research with colleague Jeff Kenworthy of transport practices and structures (original data collected on 33 global cities). The results were published in Cities and Automobile Dependence: An International Sourcebook, which introduced the concept of car dependence
Automobile dependency
Automobile dependency is a term coined by Professors Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy to capture the predicament of most cities in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and to a lesser extent, large cities in Europe....
- now a feature of planning literature and policy. The two researchers later collaborated on the book Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence which was launched in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in 1999, as the President’s Council on Sustainable Development
Commission on Sustainable Development
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development was established in December 1992 by General Assembly Resolution as a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council, implementing a recommendation in of Agenda 21, the landmark global agreement reached at the June 1992 United...
was moving toward a more urban focus.
In Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems: Principles and Practices written with Isabella Jennings, Newman shows how city residents can begin to reintegrate into their bioregional environment, and how cities themselves can be planned with ecological sustainability in mind. Drawing on examples from many parts of the world, the authors show how urban redevelopment in some cities has involved harvesting rainwater, greening roofs, and producing renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
. Other cities have biodiversity parks for endangered species, community gardens that support a connection to their foodshed, and pedestrian-friendly spaces that encourage walking and cycling.
Local, State and Federal Government
Between 1976-80 Newman has served as a local government councillor in the City of FremantleCity of Fremantle
The City of Fremantle is a Local Government Area in South Metropolitan Perth. The City covers an area of , and lies about southwest of the Perth central business district.-History:...
. Newman has been a government advisor through three secondments to the Western Australian State Government. In the last secondment (2001–03), he was the Director of Sustainability Policy in the Department of Premier and Cabinet where he managed and wrote the State Sustainability Strategy: the first in the world at the state/province level. In 2004-2005 he was the New South Wales Sustainability Commissioner.
Since 2008 he became member of Infrastructure Australia
Infrastructure Australia
Infrastructure Australia is a statutory authority of the Commonwealth Government. Its role is to plan and co-ordinate infrastructure projects across Australia, particularly where the works cross state borders. It was established in 2008....
.
Academia
From 1989 to 2007 Newman was Director of the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy, Murdoch UniversityMurdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
in Murdoch, Western Australia
Murdoch, Western Australia
Murdoch is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville. Murdoch University and St John of God Hospital Murdoch are located in Murdoch, as will be the proposed Fiona Stanley Hospital. The suburb is named after Sir Walter Murdoch....
. In 2007, Newman left Murdoch University to join Curtin University. In 2006-07 he was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
International advisor
Peter Newman is member of the Global Research Network on Human Settlements Advisory Board and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
SCOPE Ecopolis Project. He is Senior Consultant at Gehl Architects
Jan Gehl
Jan Gehl is a Danish architect and urban design consultant based in Copenhagen and whose career has focused on improving the quality of urban life by re-orienting city design towards the pedestrian and cyclist.-Biography:...
, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Honors and recognition
- Murdoch University 25th Anniversary Special Service Medallion. (2000)
- Centenary Medal by the Australian Government in 2001 for Planning and Sustainability
Publications
- 1989 Cities and Automobile Dependence: An International Sourcebook, Newman P and Kenworthy J, Gower, Aldershot
- 1992 Winning Back the Cities, Pluto Press, Sydney, 1992, Newman P and Kenworthy J,
- 1999 Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence, Island Press, Washington DC. Newman P and Kenworthy J, ISBN 1-55963-660-2.
- 1999 An International Sourcebook of Automobile Dependence in Cities, 1960-1990, Kenworthy J, Laube F and Newman P , University of Colorado Press, Boulder, 1999.
- 2001 Back on Track: Rethinking Australia and New Zealand Transport Policy, Laird P, Newman P, Kenworthy J and Bachels M, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2001.
- 2003 Hope for the Future: The Western Australian State Sustainability Strategy, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, WA Government, Perth, 2003.
- 2008 Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems: Principles and Practices with Isabella Jennings, Washington, DC: Island Press, ISBN 9781597261876.
- 2009 Resilient Cities with Timothy Beatley and Heather Boyer, Island Press, ISBN 9781597264990