DAVID ADAMSON
Group Chief Strategic Engagement, Compass Housing Services Co Ltd
“The existence of poverty and environmental degradation are related impacts of neoliberalism and its global reach for over 50 years.”
Geographical scope:
Australasia, Pacific, Global
Climate Action:
Professor Adamson conducted a thirty-year academic career in the UK, dedicated to poverty eradication and social inclusion. This quest to ensure ‘no-one is left behind’ is driven by a conviction that poverty and environmental damage are both related to the excesses of neo-liberalism and that social and climate justice are intricately connected and share common solutions. A range of direct actions are identified in this application which place David centrally in promoting the New Urban Agenda, the SDGs and climate action in Australasia and the Pacific region. He has developed local and regional initiatives to increase interest and commitment to the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs. He is currently co-authoring a Routledge published book Sustainable Places: Tackling Inequality and Climate Change. He has contributed to international conferences including Eco City, Pacific Urban Forum, World Urban Forum 9, the 2020 WUC COVID Response Urban Thinkers Campus on the Shelter Gap.
Innovation:
David is the co-originator of the Deep Place planning method which develops strategies to eradicate poverty by pursuing zero-carbon economic development. He is a founding member of the Hunter, New South Wales Regional SDG Task Force. He is currently supporting a South Australia housing organisation to develop an SDG alignment strategy which will reduce the organisation’s carbon impact and increase its social impact.
Impacts:
His impact has been through the promotion and dissemination of the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs including organising the international 2017 Conference on Implementing the NUA opened by UN-Habitat Executive Director, and in 2018 the 'Newcastle ‘Affordable Living in Sustainable Cities Congress’. He developed a web resource to ‘translate’ the NUA to the relevant SDGs . He is a member of the Newcastle SDG Group and a founding member of the Hunter Procurement for the SDGs Working Group. He regularly contributed to international conferences including Eco City Summits, the Pacific Urban Forum, the World Urban Forum and Urban Thinkers Campus sessions.
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