
Overview
Background
I am an urban sociologist and an expert in urban community in all its forms. My research encompasses the outer suburbs in Australia, the gentrifying inner city and informal communities in cities in the Global South. My work focuses on how different urban places and spatial logic in the city impact our opportunities to form attachments to neighbourhoods and each other.
Internationally, I have written extensively on urban poverty in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia and I am currently involved in work on climate change and its effects on the urban poor in collaboration with colleagues in Indonesia, Brazil and Solomon Islands. My latest research concerns the impact of climate change and natural disasters on the urban poor. More than 1 billion people live in informal urban settlements or slums. These people are among the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. However, adaptation and mitigation policies are being formulated at multiple scales, often without considering the voices of the poor.
I am the Bachelor of Arts Sociology program convenor and an award-winning teacher. I teach courses at all levels in our undergraduate sociology program, including Introduction to Sociology (SOCY1050), An Urban World (SOCY2340) and Advanced Studies in Social Thought: Getting the Big Picture (SOCY3345).
I am also an award-winning photographer (you can see some of my work on my Flickr page.
I am open to proposals from potential Honours and PhD students who share my passion for understanding the social life of cities. Whether you're from Australia, the Global South, or anywhere else in the world, I look forward to the possibility of working together.
Availability
- Associate Professor Peter Walters is:
- Not available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Inner city change
The social and cultural impacst of inner city change including gentrification, displacement and urban consolidation
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Suburban life
The sociology of suburban life, particularly in Australia.
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Sociology of mega-cities
Developing world megacities are the 21st century engines for global population growth. They are of vital interest both sociologically and economically.
Research impacts
As a publicly recognised critical academic voice on urban and suburban issues, I have been given the opportunity to regularly promote and discuss my work on various national and international platforms. I make regular appearances in the national media. In the last two years I have been interviewed by ABC Radio National, ABC Melbourne and Brisbane, and Channel 7 News.on topics such as suburban life, inner-city urban culture, and urban ethnic and cultural diversity. I am a regular contributor to the Conversation (over 100,000 readers and counting).
I have participated in and led research teams in Australia, investigating inner-urban gentrification and change; outer suburban community and relationships with the market; the impacts of disaster on community and urban social dynamics; and the spatial and biographical and spatial stories of the homeless in Brisbane for a major charity.
Internationally, I have led a research team in Bangladesh, in collaboration with a local university to investigate the urban poor and their access to urban services and a sense of citizenship in slum communities.
In the Solomon Islands, I am part of a research team that for the last decade has been investigating the intersection of traditional cultural practices, Western science and environmental imperatives. A recent addition to this research effort has been the opportunity, with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to involve undergraduates from UQ in practical fieldwork to advance understanding and cooperation between Australia and Solomon Islands.
I am involved in a publishing collaboration with scholars from France, Canada, and South Africa on the global politics of urban sprawl. I am also part of a further collaboration with Swedish scholars investigating gentrification and the right to the geomedia city.
Works
Search Professor Peter Walters’s works on UQ eSpace
2019
Other Outputs
Di Hong Kong, pengunjuk rasa melawan pemerintah dengan menguasai ruang publik
Walters, Peter and Smith, Naomi (2019, 08 06). Di Hong Kong, pengunjuk rasa melawan pemerintah dengan menguasai ruang publik The Conversation Indonesia
2019
Other Outputs
How Hong Kong protesters have been winning the battle for public space
Walters, Peter and Smith, Naomi (2019, 08 02). How Hong Kong protesters have been winning the battle for public space The Conversation
2019
Journal Article
“Forests for life” or forests for carbon markets?The case of Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands
Lyons, Kristen, Walters, Peter and Shewring, Annabel (2019). “Forests for life” or forests for carbon markets?The case of Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands. Pacific Dynamics: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 3 (1).
2019
Journal Article
Hipsters have changed inner cities for the better, so why should the suburbs miss out?
Walters, Peter (2019, 01 31). Hipsters have changed inner cities for the better, so why should the suburbs miss out? ABC News 1-1.
2019
Other Outputs
We can learn a lot from inner cities' 'third places'
Walters, Peter (2019, 01 31). We can learn a lot from inner cities' 'third places' Brisbane Times
2019
Journal Article
Why outer suburbs lack inner city’s ‘third places’: a partial defence of the hipster
Walters, Peter (2019, 01 31). Why outer suburbs lack inner city’s ‘third places’: a partial defence of the hipster The Conversation
2019
Journal Article
Community, Aesthetics, and Authenticity: The Retail Curatorship of a Rapidly Gentrifying Australian Streetscape
Molnar, Lena and Walters, Peter (2019). Community, Aesthetics, and Authenticity: The Retail Curatorship of a Rapidly Gentrifying Australian Streetscape. Space and Culture, 24 (2), 120633121882128-343. doi: 10.1177/1206331218821283
2019
Conference Publication
The death of the suburban ideal in Australia
Walters, Peter (2019). The death of the suburban ideal in Australia. In and Beyond the City: Emerging Ontologies, Persistent Challenges and Hopeful Futures, New Delhi, India, 18-21 September 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Wear and tear: public space and the cost of Instagram popularity
Peter Walters and Naomi Smith (2019). Wear and tear: public space and the cost of Instagram popularity. 2019 TASA Conference: Diversity & Urban Growth, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, 25-28 November 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Authorship matters: authentic social spaces in the Asia Pacific metropolis
Walters, Peter (2019). Authorship matters: authentic social spaces in the Asia Pacific metropolis. Made by People: Microdesign in the Asia Pacific City, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 29 October 2019.
2018
Journal Article
The limits to participation: urban poverty and community driven development in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh
Walters, Peter (2018). The limits to participation: urban poverty and community driven development in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. Community Development, 49 (5), 1-17. doi: 10.1080/15575330.2018.1537296
2018
Journal Article
A marriage of convenience: street vendors' everyday accommodation of power in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Lata, Lutfun , Walters, Peter and Roitman, Sonia (2018). A marriage of convenience: street vendors' everyday accommodation of power in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Cities, 84, 143-150. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2018.08.002
2018
Journal Article
‘Strangers in my home’: Disaster and the durability of the private realm
Cheshire, Lynda, Walters, Peter and ten Have, Charlotte (2018). ‘Strangers in my home’: Disaster and the durability of the private realm. Sociological Review, 66 (6), 003802611875478-1241. doi: 10.1177/0038026118754781
2018
Conference Publication
"Instagrammable”: Exploring the social ecology of tourist places
Duffy, Michelle , Smith, Naomi and Walters, Peter (2018). "Instagrammable”: Exploring the social ecology of tourist places. 7th Ethnography and Qualitative Research Conference, Bergamo, Italy, June 6-9 2018.
2017
Journal Article
Desire lines and defensive architecture in modern urban environments
Smith, Naomi and Walters, Peter (2017). Desire lines and defensive architecture in modern urban environments. Urban Studies, 55 (13), 004209801773269-2995. doi: 10.1177/0042098017732690
2016
Journal Article
Community teak forestry in Solomon Islands as donor development: when science meets culture
Walters, Peter and Lyons, Kristen (2016). Community teak forestry in Solomon Islands as donor development: when science meets culture. Land Use Policy, 57, 730-738. doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.06.029
2016
Conference Publication
The Politics of Space in Dhaka: Informality, Power and Negotiations in the Everyday Life of the Urban Poor
Lata, Lutfun and Walters, Peter (2016). The Politics of Space in Dhaka: Informality, Power and Negotiations in the Everyday Life of the Urban Poor. The Australian Sociological Association Conference 2016, The Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia, 28 November - 1 December 2016. Melbourne, Australia: The Australian Sociological Association.
2015
Journal Article
The problem of community resilience in two flooded cities: Dhaka 1998 and Brisbane 2011
Walters, Peter (2015). The problem of community resilience in two flooded cities: Dhaka 1998 and Brisbane 2011. Habitat International, 50, 51-56. doi: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.08.004
2015
Journal Article
The role of faith-based organizations in environmental governance: the case of forestry in Solomon Islands
Lyons, Kristen, Walters, Peter and Riddell, Erin (2015). The role of faith-based organizations in environmental governance: the case of forestry in Solomon Islands. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 18 (3), 342-360. doi: 10.1080/1523908X.2015.1098524
2015
Journal Article
Mothers’ perceptions of support in the workplace: a sense of entitlement or resignation?
Walters, Peter and Whitehouse, Gillian (2015). Mothers’ perceptions of support in the workplace: a sense of entitlement or resignation?. Journal of Sociology, 51 (3), 769-782. doi: 10.1177/1440783314536793
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Peter Walters is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Green spaces for healthy ageing: An international comparative study
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Renee Zahnow
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Doctor Philosophy
The Impacts of Climate Change on Women Households in Indonesian Coastal Urban Communities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sonia Roitman
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Doctor Philosophy
EVALUATION OF PUBLIC POLICIES ON THE INDONESIAN NATIONAL ARMED FORCES (TNI) ENGAGEMENT THROUGH ASSISTANCE TASKS TO SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT IN ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan
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Doctor Philosophy
Moving the Indonesian Capital City: An opportunity for conflict or inclusion?
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sonia Roitman
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Doctor Philosophy
Assessing Impacts and unpacking challenges of Slum Upgrading Practices on Social Mobility: revisiting upgraded settlements in Mumbai and Cape Town
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan
-
Doctor Philosophy
Pacific Seasonal Workers Health and Health Care Access in Australia: An Ethnographic Study of Seasonal Workers in Regional Queensland
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jenny Munro
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
A Study on the Performance of Microfinance in Poverty Alleviation: The Case of Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, Indonesia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Everyday politics and the negotiations of citizenship in the informal city: An ethnographic account of two informal settlements in Dhaka
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lynda Cheshire
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Being Smart at Work: Responsibility and Resistance in Precarious Australian Workplaces
Principal Advisor
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Counter-space: A Study of the Spatial Politics of the Urban Poor in the Megacity of Dhaka
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan, Associate Professor Sonia Roitman
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2015
Master Philosophy
A reflexive discourse of the local place: urban food gardeners in the city of Brisbane, Australia
Principal Advisor
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Constructing Facebook: Constituting Social Space Online
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lynda Cheshire
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
Governance and Development Planning: A Case Study of Urban Low Cost Housing in Sarawak, Malaysia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan, Professor Kristen Lyons
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2025
Doctor Philosophy
Australian Civic Food Networks in Food Systems Governance: Experiences, Challenges, and Opportunities
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Situating Individuals' Subjective Needs and Aspirations within the Wider Context of the Housing Market
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Thomas Sigler
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding formal and informal relationships in settlement upgrading for planning just and inclusive cities: the case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sonia Roitman
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Food sovereignty: alternative policy for a sustainable national food system in Timor-Leste under climate change
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kristen Lyons
Media
Enquiries
Contact Associate Professor Peter Walters directly for media enquiries about:
- Brisbane urban community
- Megacities
- Sociology - urban
- suburban life
- suburbs
- Urban sociology
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