Paul Downton

Paul Downton

Carrum, Victoria, Australia
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Ecopolis

About

For over 3 decades I've been an advocate for action on climate change and reparation of our damage to the biosphere. I believe that ecological cities offer the best means to achieve this using the concepts of 'ecopolis'​ and 'urban fractals'​.

Janis Birkeland generously calls me “one of the icons of sustainable development in Australia”. I'm an architect, urban designer, writer, researcher and PhD examiner. I was Co-founder of Urban Ecology Australia and was an early leader in regenerative architecture. I have long been a driver of the international eco-cities movement.

I am architect and co-initiator of Christie Walk and author of Ecopolis: Architecture and cities for a changing climate. As a leading theorist and practitioner of eco-city planning, my awards include Australian National Winner of Energy Globe Award 2009 for Christie Walk EcoCity Project, finalist for the World Habitat Award in 2005, Silver Prize winner of the 2006 Ryutaro Hashimoto APFED Awards and 2013 winner of the Tehran International Award.

My Christie Walk development is widely published as an exemplar of sustainable urbanism and earned me the title of “neighbourhood pioneer” from US architect Ross Chapin. My 40+ years of practice experience includes public and private sector housing in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and consulting to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I'm a Board Member of IntEcopolis, Stewardship Council Member of IEFS (International Ecocity Framework & Standards), Advisor to the Zhuhai Municpal People's Government, member of the URBIS (Urban Biosphere Initiative) Advisory Board and a Katerva Expert Panel Member.

I contribute regularly to The Nature of CIties blog.

In 2016 I moved from the seaside suburb of Semaphore, in South Australia, to the seaside suburb of Carrum, Victoria. I continue to work with private and public institutions in China and elsewhere in pursuit of the goal of ecological civilisation.

Articles by Paul

Activity

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Experience

  • Ecopolis

    Carrum, Australia

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    San Francisco Bay Area

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    Adelaide, Australia

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    Shanghai City, China

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    Wherever I happen to be

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    Tianjin City, China

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    Zhuhai, Guangdong, China

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    Beijing City, China

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    Wales, Jordan & South Australia

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    Adelaide, Australia

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    Adelaide, Australia

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    Adelaide, Australia

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    Irbid, Jordan

Education

  • Graphic

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Publications

  • Ecopolis: Architecture and cities for a changing climate

    Springer (worldwide), CSIRO (Australia & New Zealand)

    Half of the world's population lives in cities. Yet despite a wealth of literature on green architecture and planning, there is to date no single book which draws together theory from the full range of disciplines – from architecture, planning and ecology – which we must come to grips with if we are to design future cities which are genuinely sustainable.
    Paul Downton's Ecopolis takes a major step along this path. It highlights the urgent need to understand the role of cities as both agents…

    Half of the world's population lives in cities. Yet despite a wealth of literature on green architecture and planning, there is to date no single book which draws together theory from the full range of disciplines – from architecture, planning and ecology – which we must come to grips with if we are to design future cities which are genuinely sustainable.
    Paul Downton's Ecopolis takes a major step along this path. It highlights the urgent need to understand the role of cities as both agents of change and means of survival, at a time when climate change has finally grabbed world attention, and it provides a framework for designing cities that integrates knowledge – both academic and practical – from a range of relevant disciplines.
    Identifying key theorists, practitioners, places and philosophies, the book provides a solid theoretical context, and goes on to present a series of design and planning tools for achieving Sustainable Human Ecological Development (SHED). Combining knowledge from diverse fields to present a synthesis of urban ecology, the book will provide a valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners in architecture, construction, planning, geography and the traditional life sciences.

    See publication

Honors & Awards

  • 08 Australian of the Year, South Australian Finalist

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  • 09 Energy Globe Award for Christie Walk Ecocity Project, National Winner

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  • 13 Tehran International Award, International Winner

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Organizations

  • URBIS (Urban Biosphere Initiative)

    Advisory Board Member

    - Present

  • The Nature of Cities

    Regular contributor

    - Present

    I've been an enthusiastic contributor to this superb initiative by David Maddox (http://www.thenatureofcities.com) since being invited to join his stable of writers committed to communicating the role of nature in cities and cities in nature. That they are inseparable and interconnected is a realisation that is still not accepted or understood as it needs to be if we're to have any kind of healthy future on this planet. Hence, we write.

  • Urban Ecology Australia Inc

    Founding Convener

    - Present

    Urban Ecology Australia was formed to advocate for ecological cities at a time when most people said "isn't that an oxymoron?"​. Now, the idea of green cities, sustainable cities, low-carbon cities, bio-cities and ecocities is part of the wider discourse in urban planning and design and I'm proud to have played a leading role in creating a not-for-profit community educational organisation that was a pioneer when it was formed, and is still going strong.

  • Greenhouse Association of South Australia Inc

    Founding President

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    Here in South Australia we formed the first community based organisation committed to combatting climate change. Following on from the Hawke government's superb 'Greenhouse 88'​ conference initiative (which rightfully won a UN prize) we took the idea of climate change action to the street and household level and had some influence on government at the time. My partner Cherie Hoyle was key to making this happen and I'm proud to have been part of something that, for some years, offered hope for…

    Here in South Australia we formed the first community based organisation committed to combatting climate change. Following on from the Hawke government's superb 'Greenhouse 88'​ conference initiative (which rightfully won a UN prize) we took the idea of climate change action to the street and household level and had some influence on government at the time. My partner Cherie Hoyle was key to making this happen and I'm proud to have been part of something that, for some years, offered hope for timely change. Would that it were still so.

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