Spotlight on: Maria Ikonomova

Maria is a PhD researcher based at the Centre for Sustainable Development in the Department of Engineering. Her research focuses on how to manage physical infrastructure systems in cities to protect public health from climate-related hazards.

What is your research about?

I am conducting research to understand how physical infrastructure systems in cities can be managed to reduce morbidity and mortality from climate-related hazards such as flooding, heatwaves, storms, and wildfires.

I have always been interested in how the built environment and green and blue infrastructure (natural elements including parks trees, water bodies and features) can influence health outcomes. Yet, health considerations can often be ignored in infrastructure decision-making, including infrastructure climate change mitigation and adaptation planning.

What are you working on now?

I am currently in the third year of my PhD and analysing the data I have collected from the case study cities I am working with. I am also sharing the findings of a recent paper that I have published, which maps the role of physical infrastructure systems in the pathways between climate-hazards and health risks.

I particularly enjoy working with cities and stakeholders that are developing innovative infrastructure interventions to help reduce risks such as overheating in housing, air pollution, and flooding of hospitals and schools.

Why is this topic important?

There is an urgent need to develop solutions to help protect the health of vulnerable groups that are already experiencing the most severe health damage from climate-related hazards. My research is trying to establish how physical infrastructure systems can be managed to protect the health of vulnerable residents and reduce morbidity and mortality in a changing climate.

Ultimately, I hope that my research can help to support decision-makers to develop holistic preventive infrastructure measures to reduce climate-health risks. 

Does your work involve working with people from other disciplines?

My research is interdisciplinary, and I work with multiple stakeholders including city climate change, public health, and urban planning teams, as well as other stakeholders such as healthcare trusts and transport agencies.  

A key aim of my research is to explore how cities can develop holistic infrastructure interventions to reduce climate-health risks. Such interventions can only be developed through interdisciplinary knowledge and partnerships between multiple stakeholders including city public health, climate change and infrastructure teams.

Key research publications and highlights