Our people
Steve Hamnett
I
studied geography at Oxford University, mainly because I’d been good at
it at high school. I took an elective in my second year on urban
sociology – probably because it fitted in well with football training –
and discovered an interest in cities which I’ve never lost .
It led me to a PhD in urban and regional planning and to academic positions in England, Holland, the USA and Brisbane.
I came to Adelaide some 20 or so years ago and now feel thoroughly South Australian (although I’ll never see the point of Aussie Rules).
I’ve been fortunate since then in enjoying an extraordinarily varied career in teaching, research and international aid.
I’ve worked for AusAID and the University in China, the Philippines, Fiji, Malaysia and most parts of Indonesia and I’ve enjoyed every minute.
In South Australia I’ve been employed regularly on government and community projects and, recently, as a Commissioner of the Environment, Resources and Development Court.
Life at the University of South Australia has been occasionally turbulent but seldom dull. Teaching planning students and watching them embark on rewarding professional careers has always been a great job to have.
I have had – and have – some wonderful and committed colleagues and it has been a particular pleasure to observe our student body becoming more culturally and internationally diverse in recent years.
Less pleasing have been those changes in higher education funding policies which, for many students, have made their time at university more challenging and economically stressful than it ought to be.
The University of South Australia is home to Australia’s oldest planning program – the first students enrolled in 1949 (the year I was born as it happens). I think it’s still one of the best and I hope to be a part of it for a little while longer, encouraging students to reflect critically on ways of making our cities more ecologically and socially sustainable.
Steve Hamnett is the Professor of Regional and Urban Planning in the School of Natural and Built Environments.