How do we rebuild our cities and economies for a fossil fuel-free future? The need for an eighty percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 means the age of car dependence and fossil fuel reliance is over. Peter Newman, Professor of sustainability at Curtain University, addresses this pertinent problem in relation to five key issues: car dependence, renewable energy, smart infrastructure, the Global Green New Deal and competition between cities.
By the completion of this unit you will:
Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and is on the Board of Infrastructure Australia that is funding infrastructure for the long term sustainability of Australian cities. He has recently returned from a North American tour promoting his two new books ‘Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change’ and ‘Green Urbanism Down Under’, both written with Tim Beatley. In 2001-3 Peter directed the production of WA’s Sustainability Strategy in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. It was the first state sustainability strategy in the world. In 2004-5 he was a Sustainability Commissioner in Sydney advising the government on planning issues. In 2006/7 he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia Charlottesville where he wrote his new books. In Perth, Peter is best known for his work in saving, reviving and extending the city’s rail system. Peter invented the term ‘automobile dependence’ to describe how we have created cities where we have to drive everywhere. For 30 years since he attended Stanford University during the first oil crisis he has been warning cities about preparing for peak oil. Peter’s book with Jeff Kenworthy 'Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence' was launched in the White House in 1999. He was a Councillor in the City of Fremantle from 1976-80 where he still lives.
Books (Authored, Research)
http://sustainability.curtin.edu.au
