Dr Pete Howson

Assistant Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

My research looks at how AI, token economies, space technologies, and prediction markets are changing human relationships with the non-human world. I also consider how these same technologies are deployed to enable more equitable post-capitalist futures.

I lead the MSc in Disaster Managent and Sustainable Development. Before joining Northumbria, I led the International Development programme at Nottingham Trent University. In 2016 I was a Post-doc Researcher at Colorado State University, looking at Palau’s National Marine Sanctuary. Before that, I was based at Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand. My PhD research explored the political ecology of climate finance in Indonesia.

A full list of my articles, news interviews and podcasts, are available via my website.

Campus Address

Room B.310, Ellison Building

Email Pete

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Crypto Crises: How digital currencies accelerate global instability, Redshaw, T., Howson, P. 28 Apr 2026
Extra terra nullius: Off-worlding the externalities of AI, Bitcoin mining and cloud computing with Orbital Data Centres, Howson, P. 1 Jun 2026, In: Energy Research and Social Science
STEM Wars: winning hearts and minds for private sector ‘NewSpace’ industries  , Howson, P. 1 Nov 2025, In: Space Policy
Understanding farmers’ attitudes and aspirations for tree-cover restoration in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania  , Durrant, E., Howson, P., Sallu, S., Shirima, D., Lala, M., Milheiras, S., Lyimo, F., Nyiti, ., Mwanga, L., Kioko, E., Pfeifer, M. 1 Mar 2025, In: Forest Policy and Economics
Crypto/Space: computational parasitism, virtual land grabs, and the production of Web3 ‘Exit zones’, Howson, P., Rosales, A., Jutel, O., Gloerich, I., Llorens, M., de Vries, A., Crandall, J., Dolan, P. 1 Nov 2024, In: Political Geography
Poor Miners and Empty E-wallets: Latin American experiences with cryptocurrencies in crisis, Rosales, A., van Roekel, E., Howson, P., Kanters, C. 1 Mar 2024, In: Human Geography
Existing evidence on the use of participatory scenarios in ecological restoration: a systematic map, Durrant, E., Howson, P., Puttick, B., Potts, S., Shennan-Farpón, Y., Sari, N., Allen, N., Jo, Y., Grainger, M., Teh, Y., Pfeifer, M. 30 Nov 2023, In: Environmental Evidence
Let Them Eat Crypto: The Blockchain Scam That's Ruining the World, Howson, P. 20 Oct 2023
Tributary, Davoll, J., Dolan, P., Howson, P. 8 May 2023
Asia-Pacific ClimateScapes: Exploring opportunities, challenges and trade-offs toward just transitions for decarbonisation, Howson, P., Astuti, R., Hensengerth, O., Kindon, S. 22 Jun 2022

PGR Supervision

Daniel Walsh From the Geo to the Astro: Examining the Spaceflight Production Process from the Gulf of Mexico to Beyond Earth Start Date: 01/10/2024
Daniel Walsh From the Geo to the Astro: Examining the Spaceflight Production Process from the Gulf of Mexico to Beyond Earth Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025

Qualifications