The Public City: Essays in Honour of Paul Mees

Description

Paul Mees' urban ideal counted on watchful, confident and well-informed citizenry to work collectively in a quest for fair and just cities. As such, The Public City is largely a critique of neo-liberalism and its arguably negative influence on urban prospects. As Mees explained it, neo-liberal urbanism was much more than a political aberration; it was a threat that imposed many costly failures in an age overshadowed by grave ecological challenges. Fifteen of Australia and New Zealand's leading urban scholars, including Professor Emeritus Jean Hillier and Professor Brendan Gleeson, have contributed to this collection. The Public City includes a foreword by the late Professor Sir Peter Hall, a world leader in urban planning from Britain. Kenneth Davidson, one of Australia's top economic columnists, has also contributed a chapter. The collective works in this book extend beyond an analysis of urban patterns to provide a blueprint for the improvement of civic and institutional purpose in the creation of the public city.

Brendan Gleeson is Professor of Urban Policy Studies and Director of the Sustainable Society Institute at the University of Melbourne. His research interests include urban planning and governance, urban social policy, disability studies, and environmental theory and policy. Professor Gleeson's most recent book is The Urban Condition (Routledge, 2014). Beau Beza has been appointed as Senior Lecturer in Planning at Deakin University, School of Architecture and Built Environment, starting in 2015. Previously he was the Program Director, International Urban and Environmental Management at RMIT University, and led the Urban and Regional Planning program s subjects in urban design, along with the International Community Development and Global Cities educational tours to Nepal, Mexico and Colombia. Beau's research revolves around developing an understanding of how people derive meaning from the natural and built environments. He has over twenty-five years' experience in consultancy and academia, working on a variety of projects around the world. With contributions by- Beau B Beza - Matthew Burke - Erica Cervini - Kenneth Davidson - Jago Dodson