Welcome to my website!
My name is Todd BenDor and I am the Chair of the the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I am the Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Community Design at the Institute for the Environment. From 2018-2024, I was also the Director of the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science, a social data science center that helps students, faculty and staff improve the quality, rigor and reproducibility of their research through consultation and training.
My teaching and mentoring focus on environmental and development impact assessment, watershed planning, systems thinking and modeling, and urban spatial structure. My research generally looks at ecological restoration and climate adaptation policy. Specifically, my work uses qualitative, statistical, and simulation modeling methods to improve: 1) the real-world implementation of environmental markets, such as wetland and stream mitigation, water quality trading and endangered species mitigation markets, 2) our understanding of the environmental impacts of urban growth and change, 3) policies aimed at urban resilience, including floodplain buyouts and flood insurance, and 4) how we approach and engage in environmental conflict resolution.
I am interested in technology, both in how it can help us connect to one another, and how it can isolate us into the corners of our own, distant worlds. I am an avid traveler and old map collector. I also live with my beautiful wife, son, and the goofiest and best dog in the world.
On this site, you’ll find lots of information on my work and interests. Thanks for visiting!
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-Todd BenDor bendor [at] unc [dot.] edu |