Hutchinson, Dr (Charles) Philip

Qualifications Obtained

Education:

2014-15 Completion of a PhD in Environmental Design “Landscape, Power and Biopolitics:                   A Foucauldian Analysis of Freshkills Park, New York City”

The thesis examined the value and role of landscape in the contemporary city through the case study of the conversion of the world’s largest landfill into Freshkills Park. It adapted Michel Foucault’s concepts of power-knowledge, discourse and governance to consider how the park is connected to mechanisms of disciplinary power, biopolitics, and systems of neoliberal governance.  Primarily the thesis focused on the political processes through which the landfill was closed and the decision to create the park was made, but also considers the design of the park as a response to the environmental and technical difficulties presented by the site.  It also considered the administration of the construction of the park and the technical, environmental, social and political difficulties presented by the park.  The thesis explores how landscape is connected to political and economic spheres both historically and in the present, and shows how the park became representative of a number of processes that threaten New York City in the twenty-first century.

2004 Master of Design and Technology (Landscape Architecture), University of Canberra.

2003 Graduate Diploma of Design and Technology (Landscape Architecture), University of Canberra.

2000 Graduate Diploma in Resource and Environmental Management, Australian National University (awarded with merit)  Study was focused on ecology, fire adaptation of native plants, sustainable forestry practices and sustainable food production.

1990 Bachelor of Science (Major in Mathematics), University of Tasmania. The degree was completed with a double major in mathematics with an equal distribution between applied and pure mathematics.  I was accepted into honours based on my results.  This offer was declined.

Current Research Interests:

The “value” of landscape in the city and consideration of alternatives to funding the development and maintenance of open spaced based on the experience gained through work on my PhD of New York’s Central Park Conservancy.

A consideration of Michel Foucault's theories of disciplinary power and biopolitics as it applies to the development of parks and public spaces initially from a historical perspective through the nineteenth century in New York City, and then to consideration of how it relates to the provision of public space in a contemporary setting.

Research Supervision:

2016-18 Responsible for the primary supervision of Honours Thesis students in Landscape Architecture and Arts and Design.

Awards

2004 The Landscape Staff Award

Awarded to the student who has made an outstanding contribution to the culture of Landscape Architecture through research and writing.

Published Articles and Conference Papers:

• 2017 “Exploring the Connection between Landscape and Biopolitics: The Story of Freshkills Park”, Landscape Review 17(1) Pages 97-108
• 2016 “Shifting Discourses in Landscape. Exploring the value of parks in New York City.” Australasian Urban History Planning History Conference, Griffith University, February 2016 (Peer reviewed)
• 2015 “Power and the Landscape: The Story of Freshkills Park.” American Association of Geographers Annual General Meeting, Chicago, April 21-25  
• 2004 “Instant Landscapes – Just Add Water”, Kerb Magazine, University of Western Australia