Carole Voulgaris

Carole Voulgaris is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD), where she teaches courses on transportation economics, urban analytics, and planning methods. She holds a PhD in Urban Planning from UCLA, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and Civil Engineering degrees from Brigham Young University. Her research focuses on travel behavior decision-making, transportation policy, and quantitative metrics for urban environments. She leads the Laboratory for Design Technologies at GSD and has professional experience in transportation planning, including roles at Utah Transit Authority and Transpo Group.

Education:

• PhD in Urban Planning, UCLA
• MBA, University of Notre Dame
• Bachelor's and Master's in Civil Engineering, Brigham Young University

Research Interests: Dr. Voulgaris explores how urban design influences travel choices and how transportation institutions use data to shape policy. Her work emphasizes equity in mobility access, sustainable infrastructure, and the accuracy of ridership forecasts for transit projects. She has pioneered methods to measure built environment impacts on travel behavior, including studies on school travel patterns and edge-lane road safety.

Key Contributions: Her research has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the 2017 Barclay Gibbs Jones Dissertation Prize and the 2019 TRB Fred Burggraf Award. Her recent work examines pandemic-era transit equity, cycling safety disparities, and innovative approaches to urban satisfaction metrics.

Teaching & Grants: She instructs core urban planning studios and advanced courses like Transportation Economics and Travel Behavior Forecasting. Her projects include the Highlands’ Harvest studio (Spring 2020) and collaborations with the Laboratory for Design Technologies. She has secured research funding from federal transportation agencies and the GSD.

Labs/Teams: Affiliated with the Laboratory for Design Technologies, focusing on integrating technology into urban planning practices.