Associate Professor James Hopeward

Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering UniSA STEM

Mawson Lakes Campus (P2-42A)
tel +61 8 830 23128

email James.Hopeward@unisa.edu.au

Available for media comment
Research Degree Supervisor

About me

I am a sustainability scientist and systems thinker working at the intersection of environmental engineering, policy, and community engagement. My research focuses on the big-picture challenges of our time—climate change, energy transitions, and the limits to economic growth—and the solutions required to navigate them. I explore these issues from both global and local perspectives: from modelling the world’s renewable energy potential to supporting sustainable food systems and regenerative development in communities.

My work has influenced international policy discourse and sustainability assessment frameworks, including through contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations... Read more

UniSA STEM

Harnessing connections across science, technology, engineering and mathematics, UniSA STEM creates innovative solutions and groundbreaking developments across teaching, learning and research.

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Research

Research focus

Civil Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Science and Management
Multidisciplinary
Built Environment and Design

Highlights

Urban agriculture,Peak oil / fossil fuel depletion,Water recycling and reuse,Renewable energy

Research

Outputs

Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID or Scopus

Open access indicates that an output is open access.

Highlights

Year	Output
2022	Wang, X, Hopeward, J, Yi, I, McElroy, MW & Sutton, PC 2022, 'Supporting the sustainable development goals: a context sensitive indicator for sustainable use of water at the facility level', Sustainable Development, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 1184-1199. Open access 4 2
2021	Pereira, L, Asrar, GR, Bhargava, R, Fisher, LH, Hsu, A, Jabbour, J, Nel, J, Selomane, O, Sitas, N, Trisos, C, Ward, J, van den Ende, M, Vervoort, J & Weinfurter, A 2021, 'Grounding global environmental assessments through bottom-up futures based on local practices and perspectives', Sustainability Science, vol. 16, pp. 1907-1922. Open access 36 31 12
2021	Pereira, L, Kuiper, JJ, Selomane, O, Aguiar, APD & Ward, J and 17 other authors 2021, 'Advancing a toolkit of diverse futures approaches for global environmental assessments', Ecosystems and People, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 191-204. Open access 41 39 51
2020	Coscieme, L, Mortensen, LF, Anderson, S, Ward, J, Donohue, I & Sutton, P 2020, 'Going beyond Gross Domestic Product as an indicator to bring coherence to the Sustainable Development Goals', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 248, article no. 119232, pp. 1-8. Open access 114 98 17
2016	Ward, JD, Sutton, PC, Werner, AD, Costanza, R, Mohr, S & Simmons, C 2016, 'Is decoupling GDP growth from environmental impact possible?', PLoS One, vol. 2016, no.10, pp.1-14. Open access 338 289 506

Chapters

Year	Output
2018	Beecham, S, Razzaghmanesh, M, Bustami, R & Ward, J 2018, 'The role of green roofs and living walls as WSUD approaches in a dry climate', in AK Sharma, T Gardner & D Begbie (eds), Approaches to water sensitive urban design: potential, design, ecological health, urban greening, economics, policies, and community perceptions, Elsevier, Netherlands, ch. 20, pp. 409-430. 17
2011	Mills, JE, Tran, AL, Smith, EJ & Ward, J 2011, 'Educating engineers for sustainable practice', in P Roetman & C Daniels (eds), Creating sustainable communities in a changing world, Crawford House Publishing, Australia, pp. 233-238. Open access
2010	Simmons, C, Bauer-Gottwein, P, Graf, T, Kinzelback, W, Kooi, H, Li, L, Post, V, Prommer, H, Therrien, R, Voss, C, Ward, JD & Werner, A 2010, 'Variable density groundwater flow: from modelling to applications', in H Wheater (ed.), Groundwater modelling in arid and semi-arid areas, Cambridge University Press, London, ch. 7, pp. 87-118.

Journal Articles

Year	Output
2024	Tian, J, Culley, S, Maier, HR, Zecchin, AC & Hopeward, J 2024, 'Diagnostic approach and tool for assessing and increasing the sustainability of renewable energy projects', Sustainability, vol. 16, no. 24, article no. 10871, pp. 1-17. Open access
2023	Bustami, R, Rawlings, R, Beecham, S, Ward, J & Mah, D 2023, 'Living walls in the city: community values and expectations', International Journal of Integrated Engineering, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 79-86. Open access 1
2023	Bustami, RA, Beecham, S & Hopeward, J 2023, 'The influence of plant type, substrate and irrigation regime on living wall performance in a semi-arid climate', Environments, vol. 10, no. 2, article no. 26. Open access 5 4
2023	Devlin, J, Hopeward, K, Hopeward, J & Saint, C 2023, 'Leading the circular future: South Australia's potential influence on circular economy development in Asia-Pacific Region', Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 18, article no. 13756, pp. 1-13. Open access 1 1
2023	Kafle, A, Hopeward, J & Myers, B 2023, 'Exploring trade-offs between potential economic, social and environmental outcomes of urban agriculture in Adelaide, Australia and the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal', Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 14, article no. 11251. Open access 1 2
2023	Kafle, A, Hopeward, J & Myers, B 2023, 'Modelling the benefits and impacts of urban agriculture: employment, economy of scale and carbon dioxide emissions', Horticulturae, vol. 9, no. 1, article no. 67. Open access 10 7 1
2023	Kafle, A, Hopeward, J & Myers, B 2023, 'Potential economic, social and environmental contribution study of urban agriculture based on five key features identified through past studies', Land, vol. 12, no. 10, article no. 1920, pp. 1-12. Open access 2 1
2022	Bustami, RA, Beecham, S & Hopeward, J 2022, 'Evaporative cooling effect of water-sensitive urban design: comparing a living wall with a porous concrete pavement system', Water (Switzerland), vol. 14, no. 22, article no. 3759. Open access 4 2 54
2022	Kafle, A, Hopeward, J & Myers, B 2022, 'Exploring conventional economic viability as a potential barrier to scalable Urban Agriculture: examples from two divergent development contexts', Horticulturae, vol. 8, no. 8, article no. 691, pp. 1-25. Open access 4 4 2
2022	Wang, X, Hopeward, J, Yi, I, McElroy, MW & Sutton, PC 2022, 'Supporting the sustainable development goals: a context sensitive indicator for sustainable use of water at the facility level', Sustainable Development, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 1184-1199. Open access 4 2
2021	Mohr, S, Wang, J, Ward, J & Giurco, D 2021, 'Projecting the global impact of fossil fuel production from the Former Soviet Union', International Journal of Coal Science and Technology, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 1208-1226. Open access 7 7 1
2021	Pereira, L, Asrar, GR, Bhargava, R, Fisher, LH, Hsu, A, Jabbour, J, Nel, J, Selomane, O, Sitas, N, Trisos, C, Ward, J, van den Ende, M, Vervoort, J & Weinfurter, A 2021, 'Grounding global environmental assessments through bottom-up futures based on local practices and perspectives', Sustainability Science, vol. 16, pp. 1907-1922. Open access 36 31 12
2021	Pereira, L, Kuiper, JJ, Selomane, O, Aguiar, APD & Ward, J and 17 other authors 2021, 'Advancing a toolkit of diverse futures approaches for global environmental assessments', Ecosystems and People, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 191-204. Open access 41 39 51
2021	Zimmerer, KS, Bell, MG, Chirisa, I, Duvall, CS, Egerer, M, Hung, P-Y, Lerner, AM, Shackleton, C, Ward, JD & Yacamán, OC 2021, 'Grand challenges in urban agriculture: ecological and social approaches to transformative sustainability', Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, vol. 5, article no. 668561, pp. 1-8. Open access 21 20 13
2020	Coscieme, L, Mortensen, LF, Anderson, S, Ward, J, Donohue, I & Sutton, P 2020, 'Going beyond Gross Domestic Product as an indicator to bring coherence to the Sustainable Development Goals', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 248, article no. 119232, pp. 1-8. Open access 114 98 17
2020	Csortan, G, Ward, J & Roetman, P 2020, 'Productivity, resource efficiency and financial savings: an investigation of the current capabilities and potential of South Australian home food gardens', PLoS One, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1-26. Open access 24 19 69
2020	Moore, E, Ward, J & Lennard, W 2020, 'End-of-pipe horticultural reuse of recirculating aquaculture system effluent: comparing the hydro-economics of two horticulture systems', Water (Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 5, article no. 1409, pp. 1-27. Open access 5 3
2020	Semananda, NP, Ward, JD & Myers, BR 2020, 'Experimental investigation of wicking bed irrigation using shallow-rooted crops grown under glasshouse conditions', Irrigation Science, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 117-129. 5 3 3
2020	Ward, J, Mohr, S, Costanza, R, Sutton, P & Coscieme, L 2020, 'Renewable energy equivalent footprint (Reef): a method for envisioning a sustainable energy future', Energies, vol. 13, no. 23, article no. 6160, pp. 1-19. Open access 8 6 115
2019	Bustami, RA, Brien, C, Ward, J, Beecham, S & Rawlings, R 2019, 'A statistically rigorous approach to experimental design of vertical living walls for green buildings', Urban Science, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 1-15. Open access 11 9 1
2019	Lennard, W & Ward, J 2019, 'A comparison of plant growth rates between an NFT hydroponic system and an NFT aquaponic system', Horticulturae, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 1-16. Open access 26 19 2
2019	Rogers, GB, Ward, J, Brown, A & Wesselingh, SL 2019, 'Inclusivity and equity in human microbiome research', The Lancet, vol. 393, Issue 10173, pp. 728-729. 14 13 10
2018	Ahmed, N, Ward, JD, Thompson, S, Saint, CP & Diana, JS 2018, 'Blue-green water nexus in aquaculture for resilience to climate change', Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture, vol. 26, no.2, pp. 139-154. Open access 17 16 3
2018	Bustami, RA, Belusko, M, Ward, J & Beecham, S 2018, 'Vertical greenery systems: A systematic review of research trends', Building and Environment, vol. 146, pp. 226-237. Open access 136 111
2018	Pollard, G, Roetman, P, Ward, J, Chiera, B & Mantzioris, E 2018, 'Beyond productivity: considering the health, social value and happiness of home and community food gardens', Urban Science, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 1-16. Open access 15 4
2018	Pollard, G, Ward, J & Roetman, P 2018, 'Typically Diverse: The Nature of Urban Agriculture in South Australia', Sustainability, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 1-18. Open access 15 15 13
2018	Pollard, G, Ward, J & Roetman, P 2018, 'Water use efficiency in urban food gardens: insights from a systematic review and case study', Horticulturae, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 1-24. Open access 9 8 6
2018	Semananda, NP, Ward, JD & Myers, BR 2018, 'A semi-systematic review of capillary irrigation: the benefits, limitations, and opportunities', Horticulturae, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 1-15. Open access 33 27 4
2017	Platts, AB, Cameron, DA & Ward, J 2017, 'Validation of a model for two horizontal ground coupled heat exchangers based on field testing', Energy and Buildings, vol. 138, pp. 11-25. 11 10
2017	Pollard, G, Roetman, P & Ward, J 2017, 'The case for citizen science in urban agriculture research', Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 9-20. Open access 25 16
2017	Pollard, G, Ward, JD & Koth, B 2017, 'Aquaponics in urban agriculture: social acceptance and urban food planning', Horticulturae, vol. 3, no. 2, article no. 39, pp. 1-15. Open access 21 12 1
2017	Ward, J & Symons, J 2017, 'Optimising crop selection for small urban food gardens in dry climates', Horticulturae, vol. 3, no. 2, article no. 33, pp. 1-12. Open access 10 6 28
2016	Brown, C, Ward, J & Mirecki, J 2016, 'A revised brackish water aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) site selection index for water resources management', Water Resources Management, vol. 30, no. 7, pp. 2465-2481. 22 21
2016	Semananda, NP, Ward, JD & Myers, B 2016, 'Evaluating the efficiency of wicking bed irrigation systems for small-scale urban agriculture', Horticulturae, vol. 2, no. 4, article no. 13 pp. 1-18. Open access 16 9 4
2016	Ward, JD, Sutton, PC, Werner, AD, Costanza, R, Mohr, S & Simmons, C 2016, 'Is decoupling GDP growth from environmental impact possible?', PLoS One, vol. 2016, no.10, pp.1-14. Open access 338 289 506
2015	Platts, AB, Cameron, DA & Ward, J 2015, 'Improving the performance of ground coupled heat exchangers in unsaturated soils', Energy and Buildings, vol. 104, pp. 323-335. 31 31
2015	Ward, J 2015, 'Can urban agriculture usefully improve food resilience? Insights from a linear programming approach', Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 699-711. 10 1
2014	Ahmed, N, Ward, JD & Saint, CP 2014, 'Can integrated aquaculture-agriculture (IAA) produce "more crop per drop"?', Food Security, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 767-779. Open access 60 49
2014	Mohr, S & Ward, J 2014, 'Helium production and possible projection', Minerals, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 130-144. Open access 22 19
2014	Mohr, S, Giurco, D, Yellishetty, M, Ward, J & Mudd, G 2014, 'Projection of iron ore production', Natural Resources Research, vol.24, no. 3, pp. 317-327. 6 19
2014	Mohr, S, Wang, J, Ellem, G, Ward, J & Giurco, D 2014, 'Projection of world fossil fuels by country', Fuel: The Science and Technology of Fuel and Energy, vol. 141, pp. 120-135. 389 332
2014	Nel, WP & Ward, JD 2014, 'Towards a rational sustainability framework', Sustainability Science, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 515-520. 3 3
2014	Ward, J, Ward, P, Saint, CP & Mantzioris, E 2014, 'The urban agriculture revolution: implications for water use in cities', Water: Journal of the Australian Water Association, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 69-74. Open access
2014	Ward, JD, Ward, PJ, Mantzioris, E & Saint, C 2014, 'Optimising diet decisions and urban agriculture using linear programming', Food Security, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 701-718. 7 26
2012	Ward, JD, Mohr, SH, Myers, BR & Nel, WP 2012, 'High estimates of supply constrained emissions scenarios for long-term climate risk assessment', Energy Policy, vol. 51, pp. 598-604. 28 29
2011	Ward, J, Werner, A, Nel, W & Beecham, S 2011, 'The influence of constrained fossil fuel emissions scenarios on climate and water resource projections', Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 1879-1893. Open access 14 15
2011	Werner, A, Alcoe, D, Ordens, C, Hutson, J, Ward, JD & Simmons, C 2011, 'Current practice and future challenges in coastal aquifer management: flux-based and trigger-level approaches with application to an Australian case study', Water Resources Management, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 1831-1853. 57 51
2011	Werner, AD, Ward, JD, Morgan, LK, Simmons, CT, Robinson, N I & Teubner, MD 2011, 'Vulnerability indicators of sea water intrusion', Ground Water, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 48-58. 149 137
2010	Xie, Y, Ward, JD, Simmons, C & Werner, A 2010, 'Effect of transient solute loading on free convection in porous media', Water Resources Research, vol. 46, pp. 1-16. Open access 30 28
2009	Reeuwijk, MV, Ward, JD, Mathias, S & Simmons, C 2009, 'Insights from a pseudospectral approach to the Elder problem', Water Resources Research, vol. 45, no. 4, Paper W04416. Open access 42 36
2009	Simmons, C, Ward, JD, Pavelic, P & Dillon, P 2009, 'Integrated assessment of lateral flow, density effects and dispersion in aquifer storage and recovery', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 370, no. 1-4, pp. 83-99. 69 68
2008	Simmons, C, Ward, JD & Dillon, P 2008, 'Variable-density modelling of multiple-cycle aquifer storage and recovery (ASR): Importance of anisotropy and layered heterogeneity in brackish aquifers', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 356, no. 1-2, pp. 93-105. 45 43
2008	Ward, JD, Simmons, C, Nield, D & Kuznetsov, A 2008, 'On the evolution of salt lakes: Episodic convection beneath an evaporating salt lake', Water Resources Research, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 1-13. Open access 39 32

Conferences

Year	Output
2012	Chileshe, N, Rofe, MW, Rameezdeen, R, Sivam, A, Weber, D, Karuppannan, S, Ward, J & Butland, R 2012, Proceedings of the 6th International conference and workshop on the built environment in developing countries, Casual Productions, Australia.
2011	Ward, JD, Werner, A, Nel, W & Beecham, S 2011, 'Finite fossil fuel resources as an upper constraint to global warming impacts', Escaping Silos - SSEE 2011 International Conference, Society of Sustainability and Environmental Engineering, pp. 1-10.
2008	Mudd, G & Ward, JD 2008, 'Will sustainability constraints caus 'peak minerals'?', Conference on Sustainability Engineering & Science: Blueprints for Sustainable Infrastructure, pp. 1-10.
2008	Ward, JD, Simmons, C & Dillon, P 2008, 'Density considerations in the modelling of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) ', in Lambert, Martin; Daniell, TM; Leonard, Michael, Proceedings of Water Down Under 2008, pp. 853-862.

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Organisation	Country
Australian National University	AUSTRALIA
Center for Sustainable Organizations	UNITED STATES
China University of Petroleum (Huadong)	CHINA
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)	NETHERLANDS
European Environment Agency	DENMARK
Flinders University	AUSTRALIA
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University	GERMANY
Hohai University	CHINA
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine	UNITED KINGDOM
International Water Management Institute	ETHIOPIA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	UNITED STATES
Monash University	AUSTRALIA
National Taiwan University	TAIWAN
Nelson Mandela University	SOUTH AFRICA
North Carolina State University - Raleigh	UNITED STATES
Pennsylvania State University	UNITED STATES
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru	PERU
Rhodes University	SOUTH AFRICA
South Australian Health and Medical and Research Institute (SAHMRI)	AUSTRALIA
Stellenbosch University	SOUTH AFRICA
Stockholm University	SWEDEN
Sustainable Concepts	SOUTH AFRICA
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)	SWITZERLAND
Technical University of Berlin	GERMANY
Technical University of Munich	GERMANY
Texas Tech University	UNITED STATES
Trinity College Dublin	IRELAND
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)	SWITZERLAND
United States Army Corps of Engineers	UNITED STATES
Universities Space Research Association	UNITED STATES
University Michigan	UNITED STATES
University of Adelaide	AUSTRALIA
University of Auckland	NEW ZEALAND
University of California	UNITED STATES
University of Cape Town	SOUTH AFRICA
University of Denver	UNITED STATES
University of Dublin	IRELAND
University of Madrid	SPAIN
University of Malaysia, Sarawak (Malaysia)	MALAYSIA
University of Manitoba	CANADA
University of Montreal	CANADA
University of New Mexico - Albuquerque	UNITED STATES
University of Newcastle	AUSTRALIA
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	UNITED STATES
University of North Florida (UNF)	UNITED STATES
University of South Australia	AUSTRALIA
University of Southern Denmark	DENMARK
University of Stellenbosch	SOUTH AFRICA
University of Technology	IRAQ
University of Technology Sydney	AUSTRALIA
University of Warwick	UNITED KINGDOM
University of Zimbabwe	ZIMBABWE
US Environmental Protection Agency	UNITED STATES
Utrecht University	NETHERLANDS
Victoria University	AUSTRALIA

External engagement & recognition

Engagement/recognition	Year
Lead Author, Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) 6 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)	2018
National President Sustainable Population Australia	2018
Invited speaker Wellbeing Economy Festival, Pretoria	2017
Member Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WE-All)	2017
National President Sustainable Population Australia	2017
Finalist, Science Excellence Awards SA, Peoples Choice Award Department of State Development, Government of South Australia	2015

Teaching & student supervision

Research degree supervision

Supervisions from 2010 shown

Thesis title	Student status
Assessment of the Effectiveness of Irrigation in Urban Agriculture by Utilising Artificial Intelligence	Current
Limits to circularity in ¿The Growth State¿: Exploring visions of a circular economy in South Australia	Current
Transition to an ecologically sustainable landscape ¿ a methodology	Current
A multidisciplinary investigation of living walls for modern Australian buildings	Completed
A theoretical study of trade-offs and synergies between potential economic, environmental and social outcomes in urban agriculture	Completed
An enhanced heat transfer system for ground heat exchange in unsaturated soils	Completed
Assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of wicking bed irrigation systems for urban agriculture	Completed
Changing the world for good? Mapping the long-term impacts of adult environmental education programs in South Australia	Completed
Different kinds of worth: a practical investigation into the productivity, resource efficiency and social value of urban agriculture	Completed
Reuse of recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) effluent and sludge in soil-based and hydroponic horticulture systems	Completed
Tailoring renewable energy systems to communities	Completed

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Associate Professor James Hopeward

About me

About me

UniSA STEM

About me

Professional Associations

Experience

Qualifications

Research

Research focus

Highlights

Projects

Outputs

Highlights

Chapters

Journal Articles

Conferences

Current research & highlights

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Collaborations

External engagement & recognition

Lead Author, Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) 6

National President

Invited speaker

Member

National President

Finalist, Science Excellence Awards SA, Peoples Choice Award

Teaching & student supervision

Courses and programs

Courses I teach

Research degree supervision

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