SPEAKER : Prof. Peter Newman, Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Australia; and Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore Dr. Paul Barter, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore SYNOPSIS : Green Urbanism: How Does Singapore Compare? Green urbanism is a way to describe settlements that are smart, secure and sustainable. They are smart in that they are able to adapt to the new technologies of the 21st century, secure in that they have built-in systems that enable them to respond to extreme events as well as being built to last, and sustainable in that they are part of the solution to the big questions of sustainability, such as climate change, peak oil, and biodiversity. This paper assesses Green Urbanism in terms of seven criteria: Renewable City, Carbon Neutral City, Biophillic City, Distributed City, Eco-Efficient City, Place-based City and Sustainable Transport City. These criteria will be explained by using best practice examples from other cities. They will then be applied to Singapore to see how the city is going on this new global quest to be innovative and competitive in the emerging green economy. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and was recently a Visiting Professor in Architecture at NUS. He is on the Board of Infrastructure Australia that is funding infrastructure for the long term sustainability of Australian cities. His two new books in 2009 'Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change' and 'Green Urbanism Down Under', were both written with Tim Beatley. 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' which is now part of most planning practice and theory. Peter's book with Jeff Kenworthy 'Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence' was launched in the White House in 1999. He was a Local Government Councillor in the City of Fremantle from 1976-80 where he still lives. Paul Barter is an Assistant Professor in the LKY School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore where he teaches infrastructure, urban and transport policy. His earlier research focused mainly on international comparisons of urban transport policy and its interactions with urban policy with an geographical emphasis on eastern Asia, especially Malaysia and Singapore. His current research interests are innovation in transport demand management policy, public transport regulation and fundamental priorities of urban transport policy. He recently completed a 14-city study of parking policy and outcomes in Asian cities for the Asian Development Bank. DATE : TIME : ORGANISER : This seminar series is brought to you by Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore in collaboration with National Library Singapore.

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