Todd BenDor, Ph.D. 
Distinguished Professor in Sustainable Community Design, Department of City and Regional Planning, College of Arts and Sciences, and Director, Odum Institute for Research in Social Science | UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC, UNITED STATES
BenDor's research aims to better understand the impacts that human activities and development can have on sensitive ecological systems.
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Biography
Professor BenDor's research and teaching focus on producing better ways to understand the impacts that human activities and development can have on sensitive ecological and environmental systems. His research uses both qualitative and quantitative techniques to explore 1) improvements in environmental policy, particularly environmental markets, such as those used domestically to elevate water quality and protect and restore wetlands, 2) better and easier to use models of urban growth and change, and 3) improvements in environmental conflict resolution techniques. Dr. BenDor is also the Director of Carolina Planning's Ph.D. Program.
Areas of Expertise (10)
Human Impact on the Environment
Ecology
Environmental Planning
Land Use Planning
Urban Modeling
Environmental restoration
Environmental Policy
Environmental markets
Ecosystem services
Water Quality
Accomplishments (5)
Honorary Visiting Professor (professional)
Fall 2016 Center for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College-London, London, England
Frederick J. Clarke Scholar (2012) (professional)
Institute of Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Lone Mountain Fellow (2010) (professional)
Property and Environment Research Center
Sigma Xi Full Member (2009) (professional)
National Scientific Research Society
GlaxoSmithKline Faculty Fellow (2009) (professional)
Institute for Emerging Issues, N.C. State University
Education (3)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Ph.D., Urban and Regional Planning 2007
Washington State University: M.S., Environmental Science 2003
Worcester Polytechnic Institute: B.S., System Dynamics 2002
Affiliations (4)
- National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center : Member Scientific Review Committee
- Adviser State of North Carolina Sea Level Rise Risk Management Study
- Member Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC)
- Member EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities Subcommittee (2014-2017)
Links (5)
Media Appearances (6)
The feds must start to value natural capital — what's next?
GreenBiz online
2015-12-03
"I think a lot of folks will be waiting in the wings to see how this actually translates into new agency actions and regulatory changes/investment changes," said Todd BenDor, an associate professor of city and regional planning with an environmental specialty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...
The Value Of Nature To Be Recognized In Every US Federal Agency Under New Guidance
Ecosystem Marketplace online
2015-10-09
“I think a lot of folks will be waiting in the wings to see how this actually translates into new agency actions and regulatory changes/investment changes” says Todd BenDor, an Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning with an environmental specialty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...
Ecological Restoration Is A $25 Billion Industry That Generates 220,000 Jobs
Ecosystem Marketplace online
2015-07-08
“People want to know big picture numbers on industries,” said report author, Todd BenDor, an Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning with an environmental specialty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “We basically find ecological restoration is a $9.5 billion industry employing about 126,000 people directly.” On top of that, he found, the restoration economy indirectly generates $15 billion and 95,000 jobs, bringing restoration’s total economic output value to nearly $25 billion...
A Drain On The Economy? Ecological Restoration Is A $9.5 Billion Industry
Fast Company online
2015-07-06
In fact, the "restoration economy" is worth as much as $9.5 billion a year, according to a new estimate by Todd BenDor, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, and four co-researchers. "The public debate over restoration usually focuses on how many jobs are killed when environmental regulation requires restoration," says BenDor in an email. "We wanted to know how much economic impact restoration is having. Restoration is an essential part of the green economy, but it's really hard to measure since it's hard to even tell who is doing the work."...
Saltwater Intrusion a Threat
The Greenville Reflector online
June 14, 2015 North Carolina’s Albemarle-Pamlico peninsula is one of the state’s true natural treasures with its richness in wildlife and plant diversity. From tundra swans to black bears to marshes and wetland forests it is an area full of unique landscapes and habitats.
Now THIS is What we Call Green Jobs: The Restoration Industry 'Restores' the Environment and the Economy
Forbes online
Jan. 8, 2014 Most people associate economic growth with expansion of the human built environment. Constructing more roads and more commercial and residential developments—“gray infrastructure”—means more jobs and a healthier overall economy. However, increasing gray infrastructure often comes at a cost to natural ecosystems. For instance, over half of the globe’s wetlands, which provide “free” water filtration services, have been lost since 1900. As the global economy eliminates these mostly free services provided by nature’s “green infrastructure,” more “gray infrastructure” must be built to replace the lost ecosystem functions.
Articles (6)
A dynamic analysis of the wetland mitigation process and its effects on no net loss policy
Landscape and Urban Planinng2009 ABSTRACT: Since 1980, US regulations have required compensatory mitigation for wetland losses, often through wetland creation or restoration. In 1987, the National Wetlands Policy Forum recommended that federal policy should aim to achieve overall “no net loss” of the ...
Ecological and economic sustainability in fishery management: a multi-agent model for understanding competition and cooperation
Ecological Economics2009 ABSTRACT: Recent studies have shown that many marine ecosystems are experiencing an accelerating loss of population and biodiversity. It is apparent that there is a growing disparity between the available supply of fish and the desire of the growing world population to catch them. ...
Landscape characteristics of a stream and wetland mitigation banking program
Ecological Applications2009 ABSTRACT: In the United States, stream restoration is an increasing part of environmental and land management programs, particularly under the auspices of compensatory mitigation regulations. Markets and regulations surrounding stream mitigation are beginning to ...
Bioenergy and land use: a spatial-agent dynamic model of energy crop production in Illinois
International Journal of Environment and Pollution2009 ABSTRACT: To reduce dependence on foreign oil and natural gas and address concerns about climate change, the USA is increasingly developing renewable, domestic energy sources, notably biomass for the production of ethanol and biodiesel. Illinois, as one of the farming states of ...
Modeling the spread of the emerald ash borer
Ecological Modelling2006 ABSTRACT: Recently, an invasive Asian beetle known as the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)(Agrilus planipennis Coleoptera: Buprestidae) has emerged as a threat to ash trees in the Midwestern United States and Canada...
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