Dr Scott Hawken

Dr. Scott Hawken is a Landscape Architect, Urban Designer, and Landscape Archaeologist and his research and teaching bring together these three disciplines in creative ways. He is a strong supporter of the kind of transdisciplinary thinking necessary to tackle the large problems of our time. Scott is the director of the Landscape Architecture and Urban Design program in the School of Architecture and Built Environment. He works across the architecture and landscape architecture programs in the school and convenes postgraduate courses in both Landscape Architecture and Urban Design.

His Ph.D., awarded in 2012, involved the mapping of over 20,000km of archaeological features from 1000 sq km of remote sensing imagery to gain new insights into the evolution and ecology of archaeological landscapes and green infrastructure within Southeast Asia, It generated new knowledge on the socio-economic and ecological adaptation strategies of Angkor, the world’s largest pre-modern city. Such insights advance understanding of green infrastructure and social-ecological change in a long-term context which is important for today’s societies and their adaptation to climate change and urbanization. The findings are highly significant in the context of the sustainability and durability of socio-ecological systems within megacities.

Scott’s research has appeared in feature-length National Geographic and BBC documentaries shot on-site in Cambodia. He brings his deep understanding of past urban environments to bear on current questions of long-term urban sustainability and has published on Southeast Asian and Asian Urbanism in leading international publications. He is currently on the editorial board for Environment and Urbanisation ASIA. Theoretically, Dr. Hawken's research spans critical urban scholarship, radical political ecology, and landscape archaeology. Methodologically he makes use of high-end geospatial technologies including GIS, remote sensing, Geodesign, and on-the-ground survey to enable the integration of “big-data” into real-world applications. His work on smart cities theory seeks to identify how digital technologies are changing cities.

His courses typically engage with both local and international public and private agencies around the world. He has led international workshops in New York, Japan, Delhi, Chennai, Madrid, Bilbao, Venice, Berlin, and Cape Town for postgraduate students, professionals, and governments. He has worked at UNSW Sydney as part of the Urban Development and Design Program for nine years and prior to that, he worked with leading landscape and urban design practices such as Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture, Room 413, and Terragram as well as the NSW Govt Architect.

Scott is a passionate and innovative teacher and is currently interested in supervising Ph.D. students in the areas of cultural landscapes, landscape archaeology, urban design, smart cities, and green and blue infrastructure. He is available for media appearances and can be contacted by email.