Rate My Professor Ed Randal

Dr Ed Randal, or Edward Randal, is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington, within the Faculty of Medicine. He is affiliated with the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities and the He Kāinga Oranga | Housing and Health Research Programme. Randal holds a BSc in Biochemistry, a Master of Environmental Studies (MEnvStud), and a PhD, which he recently completed. His doctoral thesis explored the impact of the New Zealand transport system on health and equity.

Randal's research specializations focus on the relationships between transport, urban development, the environment, and their interactions with health, equity, and wellbeing. He works across the transport and community formation strands of the MBIE-funded Public Housing and Urban Regeneration Research Programme. He has undertaken University of Otago Research Grants to model the future health impacts of transport in New Zealand and to estimate the health and environmental effects of fully subsidised public transport. Additional research encompasses greenspace and community gardens, drawing on theories and methods from economics, behavioural psychology, social ecological systems, and geographic information systems. Key publications include 'A cost benefit analysis of an active travel intervention with health and carbon emission reduction benefits' (2018, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health), 'Fairness in transport policy: A new approach to applying distributive justice theories' (2020, Sustainability), 'Nitrate contamination in drinking water and colorectal cancer: Exposure assessment and estimated health burden in New Zealand' (2022, Environmental Research), 'The impact of transport on population health and health equity for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand: a prospective burden of disease study' (2022, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health), 'Placemaking and public housing: the state of knowledge and research priorities' (2023), '“Like a family without being a family”: Social connectedness between social housing tenants in Aotearoa New Zealand' (2025, Wellbeing, Space & Society), and 'Rapidly reducing oil reliance: Quick wins in active transport' (2026, The Briefing). His scholarship has received over 900 citations.