Nationality British Died 1997 Role Town planner | Name Gordon Stephenson | |
 | ||
Books Compassionate town planning | ||
Occupation Town planner
Architect Education University of Liverpool | ||
Gordon stephenson and the ballance farm environment awards
Gordon Stephenson (1908–1997) was a British-born town planner and architect. He is best known for his role in shaping the modern growth and development of Perth, Western Australia.
Contents
- Gordon stephenson and the ballance farm environment awards
- Early life
- Early career
- Perth Western Australia
- Later career
- Death
- Legacy
- Report
- Books
- References
Early life
Gordon Stephenson was born in 1908. He studied architecture at the University of Liverpool, graduating in 1930.
Early career
His early career included working with Patrick Abercrombie on the Greater London Plan. Along with Peter Shepheard, he created an influential design for Stevenage, the first post-war British new town, which incorporated a pedestrianised town centre.
Perth, Western Australia
In 1953, he was commissioned by the state government of Western Australia to produce a plan for the metropolitan area of Perth and Fremantle. The resulting 1955 Plan for the Metropolitan Region was co-authored with Alistair Hepburn and is commonly known as the 'Stephenson-Hepburn Report'. It included an atlas of maps which laid down a broad pattern of future land uses including highways and open space, and catered for significant additional population growth.
The report formed the basis for the 1963 Metropolitan Region Scheme for Perth and Fremantle, a legal instrument for regulating land-use and development in the urban area It remained the overarching strategic plan for the development of Perth until it was succeeded by the Corridor Plan for Perth in 1970.
Later career
Following his work in Perth, he was employed variously as a consultant planner and academic in New Zealand, Canada, and America. He subsequently returned to Perth and continued to play an important role in its development, amongst other things crafting plans for Joondalup and Midland regional centres, and for the campus of Murdoch University.
In later life, he authored several books.
Death
He died in 1997, possibly of a stroke.
Legacy
On August 28, 2011, the WA State Government announced that the recently completed building, informally known as one40william would be renamed Gordon Stephenson House.
The Planning Department at the University of Liverpool is located in the Gordon Stephenson Building, named in his honour.