Staff Profile
Sara Tilley, BSc (Hons) MA
Ph.D student - E-mail
Sara is currently studying for a Ph.D at the University of St Andrews funded in partnership by MRCMH and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Originally from Portsmouth she initially studied for a BSc (Hons) in Geography with Economics from the London School of Economics in 2006.
After this she began working as a Transport Planner in Leeds for a private firm working on a variety of public and private transport projects. This varied from preparing Transport Assessments for developments, to undertaking traffic analysis for Scheme Appraisals and Economic Assessments, to organising and facilitating Public Consultations and Stakeholder Workshops.
In 2007, she began an MA in Social and Cultural Geography at the University of Leeds part-time, alongside work to build up her knowledge of the social impacts of travel and transport which was completed September 2009. After being accepted to the University of St Andrews she worked for MRCMH during the summer of 2009. During her time here she has contributed to a variety of projects including several Transport Assessment and Baseline Studies. She was also involved in some prioritisation exercises for the East of England Region and South East Queensland.
It is thought that due to demographic changes in society that travel behaviour is becoming more complex and so transport policy much more interdependent with a range of urban policy areas. Sara’s thesis involves using complex secondary datasets to explore how travel patterns and behaviour have changed over time in urban Britain. In particular, emphasis has been placed on the role of changing demographics in Britain on travel patterns, such as the growth of more single person households and rise in divorce numbers. It will also attempt to uncover any geographical variations in travel behaviour between cities and rural areas. It will also involving exploring and unpacking the links between transport and quality of life, including health, housing, social inclusion and well-being. (More information on Sara's Ph.D can be found here.)
When she has any free time, Sara enjoys exploring the nightlife that Dundee, and occasionally Edinburgh, has to offer and socialising with her friends. She also likes to attend comedy shows and the cinema whenever possible. To keep fit she also goes running and plays squash. She also likes showing off her knowledge of the beautiful game by beating the boys in the office at fantasy football.
