Jim Colman is a Senior Associate at the Urban Harbors Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His first Degree in Architecture (University of New South Wales) was followed by graduate studies in urban and regional planning at University College London. He also holds a Master's in the History and Philosophy of Science at UNSW.

For the past 25 years Jim has combined a consultancy practice in urban planning and environmental management with part - time university teaching, research and writing. Based in Sydney, Australia, his work has taken him to Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Ghana, Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand, United Kingdom as well as numerous locations in Australia itself. His clients have included major public agencies and institutions, private corporations, non-government organisations and research bodies. He has lectured at 7 east-coast universities in Australia, and has extensive experience in the design and delivery of short in-service courses for professionals working in the environmental sector. He has published 3 books as well as numerous papers and research works, and is an award-winning freelance journalist.
Whilst his practice has embraced a wide range of environmental themes and issues, the bulk of his work in the past decade or so has been in the field of policy development and implementation, serving coastal municipalities and natural resource agencies. Examples include the preparation of a comprehensive plan of management for a major NSW coastal waterway; the recently-completed (2001) environmental strategy for the port of Botany Bay, in Sydney; and the natural resource management strategy for the Daro-Mukah coastal zone in Sarawak, East Malaysia (1998).