Eleni Bardaka

Assistant Professor

Dr. Eleni Bardaka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) at NCSU. She is primarily associated with the Transportation Systems group within the CCEE Department and is interested in transportation planning and economics research. Dr. Bardaka currently teaches CE 297 – Introduction to Sustainable Infrastructure and CE 401/501 – Transportation Systems Analysis.

Education

Ph.D. 2016

Civil Engineering

Purdue University

M.S. 2014

Economics

Purdue University

M.S. 2012

Civil Engineering

Purdue University

B.S. 2010

Civil Engineering

National Technical University of Athens, Greece

Research Description

Dr. Bardaka is interested in the relationship between the spatial patterns of urban development and transportation interventions. She mainly focuses on urban phenomena such as gentrification, segregation, and displacement and on how they relate to transportation investments and policies. She is currently studying the socioeconomic impacts of urban rail, including the gentrification and economic displacement of lower-income households, as well as affordable housing schemes close to transit systems. In her research, she uses spatial econometric analysis and quasi-experimental methods to test if there is a causal link between a transportation intervention and a socioeconomic outcome. She also supports state agencies with research related to highway-induced local and regional economic development, cost-benefit analysis of different projects (such public-private partnerships and toll roads), and evaluation of alternative revenue sources.

Honors and Awards

  • Best Paper by a Junior Researcher Award at the Annual Conference of the International Transportation Economics Association for the paper "Causal identification of gentrification and local spatial spillover effects of urban rail infrastructure", 2017

Grants

Service Characteristics and User Benefits of Public Microtransit Systems
NC Department of Transportation(7/01/23 - 7/01/25)
Variation in Neighborhood Changes around Transit Stations by Initial Neighborhood Socioeconomic Characteristics (Adam Schmidt)
US Dept. of Transportation (DOT)(1/31/23 - 8/31/23)
Public Microtransit Pilots in the State of North Carolina: Benefits, Costs, and Lessons Learned
NC Department of Transportation(1/01/22 - 11/30/22)
Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP) Graduate Fellowship (Adam Schmidt)
US Dept. of Transportation (DOT)(2/18/22 - 8/31/22)
Demand for Travel and Equity Assessment of Emerging Mobility Services for Transportation Disadvantaged Populations
US Dept. of Transportation (DOT)(2/01/22 - 9/30/23)
SCC-PG: Empathy and AI: Towards Equitable Microtransit
National Science Foundation (NSF)(10/01/21 - 9/30/23)
Multi-Decadal Decarbonization Pathways for U.S. Freight Rail
US Dept. of Energy (DOE) - Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)(1/07/22 - 7/06/23)
NCDOT University Transportation Center of Excellence on Mobility and Congestion
NC Department of Transportation(2/01/20 - 2/28/23)
STRIDE: Emerging Mobility Services for the Transportation Disadvantaged
US Dept. of Transportation (DOT)(11/01/19 - 12/31/21)
Economic Impacts of Transit Investments, Social Challenges, and Strategies for Sustaining High Ridership
NC Department of Transportation(8/01/19 - 12/31/22)