Noreen C. McDonald

Noreen C. McDonald is professor and former chair in the Department of City and Regional Planning and senior associate dean for Social Sciences and Global Programs in College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work is at the intersection of planning and public health. She researches how changing technology and policy impact road safety and access to healthcare. Her previous work has focused on how infrastructure such as schools, roads, and bike lanes impact road safety and physical activity especially for children and young adults. Her current projects focus on how transport technology, policy and COVID-19 impact road safety, goods movement and access to health care. She is an internationally recognized expert on the travel behavior of youth and young adults. Her work has demonstrated the road safety and physical activity impacts of transport and school infrastructure. Prior to becoming a professor, she worked as a consultant for Cambridge Systematics and Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman). Dr. McDonald holds a PhD in regional planning and an MS in civil engineering jointly from the University of California, Berkeley along with an AB in engineering and chemistry from Harvard University.

updated 2024