The St Mark's Humanities and Social Sciences Department is looking forward to welcoming acclaimed sustainability expert, Professor Peter Newman, as our first ever 'Geographer in Residence'.

Professor Newman will be starting his time at St Mark's with a special seminar on 'Why Spatial Understanding Matters - Implications for Planning in the Northern Suburbs', to which we invite the wider St Mark's community to attend on Tuesday 17 August, commencing at 9.30am. Please book your place as soon as possible, as tickets are limited.

Biography

Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University in Perth. Peter is an academic who has written 20 books and over 350 papers on sustainable cities having established a global reputation as well as working to deliver his ideas in all levels of government. Peter has worked in local government as an elected councillor in Fremantle, in Western Australia’s state government as an advisor to three Premiers and with the Australian Federal Government on the Board of Infrastructure and the Prime Minister’s Cities Reference Group. He is the Coordinating Lead Author for the United Nations’ IPCC on Transport. In 2014, he was awarded an Order of Australia for his contributions to urban design and sustainable transport, particularly for his work in saving and rebuilding Perth’s rail system. In 2018/19 he was the WA Scientist of the Year. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Springer Journal 'Sustainable Earth'.

Peter is well known in Perth for his work in reviving and extending the city’s rail system from 1979 including the return of the Fremantle Rail line, electrification of the three heritage lines, building the Northern Rail line and the Southern Rail line, as well as proposing a vision for the next 30 years of light rail and heavy rail to contain Perth’s urban sprawl. This activism has been turned into practical assistance in dozens of other cities.