About Nesta

Nesta is an innovation foundation. For us, innovation means turning bold ideas into reality and changing lives for the better. We use our expertise, skills and funding in areas where there are big challenges facing society.

More about us

Meadhbh Maguire

Resident, healthy life mission

She/Her

Meadhbh has joined Nesta as a seconded planning expert in residence to assist a healthy life mission’s work in Scotland to improve food environments.

Meadhbh is also a senior planner within the Planning Policy Team at Aberdeenshire Council and holds chartered membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute, in addition to corporate membership of the Irish Planning Institute. She has over 10 years of experience in planning academia and practice, including development management. Her core interests include the relationship between planning and public health, rural development, housing, transport planning and active travel.

She studied Economics and Geography at the University of Glasgow before completing her MSc Environmental Planning at Queens University Belfast and finally earned her PhD Urban Planning at McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 2021. She was awarded the Early Career Research Award by the Royal Town Planning Institute and her planning research has been published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.