Maria joined CASA as a PhD student in Autumn 2023. Her research hopes to make our transport systems fairer and more accessible for everyone. She focuses on understanding the concept “transport flexibility” (or the lack thereof) and how it intersects with socio-demographic or geographic variables. Maria is particularly interested in the issue of car dependence as intersection of climate change and social inequality in the UK. Current projects include using agent-based models (MATSim) to understand individual-level flexibility and exploring the impact of “real” and “perceived” car dependence on long-term future travel plans.

Before her PhD, Maria worked as an energy consultant and, before that, gained her masters in Physics. Maria dreams of a world where SUVs, billionaires, and animal farming are extinct, replaced by trams and bikes, communities of care, and flourishing wildlife.

In her spare time, she likes to cook, sing, forage, walk, and get angry at politicians.