When I started high school, my imagination was captured by natural processes such as chemical
reactions and quantum physics. I enjoyed experimentation and international scientificcompetitions, too. However, as I grew older, I was eager to get a more comprehensive outlook
on the world to understand the complex interactions between physical and human factors. Thisis why I first thought of becoming a geographer. Let’s take the concept of energy as an example.
In natural sciences, I learnt that energy is ‘the capacity to do work’ and determines the outcomesof physical processes. Still, Timothy Mitchell and Andreas Malm reveal what a decisive social
force energy was during the industrial revolution and is still in modern societies. Theconversion, transportation and utilisation of energy are all place-bound activities, so energy isa concern of geographers, too. I had the opportunity to work with Dr Béla Munkácsy, aprofessor at ELTE University, who specialises in renewable energy. He introduced me to thedeeper implications of assessing national energy systems, and I contributed a chapter to hisbook called ‘The State of Wind Energy in the 21st Century’, which will be published thisOctober. While comparing the German evolution of wind energy to my home country, I
calculated that if the installed capacity was as high as in the federal state Brandenburg (250kW/km2), almost all of Hungary’s electricity needs could be covered. Despite this, theconstruction of new wind turbines in Hungary is de facto banned (the government sets terms
that are technically impossible to fulfil), and we lag behind the region in renewable capacities,
thus, in mitigating climate change. This is the second consideration that led me to choosegeography: the inadequacy of humanity’s response to acute challenges such as climate changeor famine is not the result of a lack of innovative technologies, but of factors relating to politics,
economic or international relations. After reading the works of moral philosopher Peter Singer,
I feel responsible to "do the most good I can" with my career, so guided by the holistic approachof geography, I hope to break through some of these systemic barriers and decrease globalsuffering. As a geographer, I aim to map the reasons for suffering and mitigate them. Forinstance, geography is concerned with place-based inequalities. Overall, I am interested ininequalities within cities, as, according to David Harvey, their spatial form has a concrete
impact on income redistribution. The fact that by means of urban planning, cities could be madeless unjust, evoked my interest in urban economic and social phenomena. I studied
gentrification based on Neil Smith’s, Chris Hamnett’s and Matthias Bernt’s works, combinedwith my own observations carried out in Budapest and Győr. As my field research revealed, inthe post-socialist context, rapid neoliberalization resulted in complicated home ownership
structures that allowed gentrification to evolve much slower (sometimes even as a state-ledproject) compared to Anglo-Saxon cities, from where the concept originates. Besides

inequalities, suffering is present in cities due to the lack of green spaces, which leads to a lossof biodiversity and can cause mental illness. As a research assistant at Central European
University I investigated nature-based solutions in high-density urban areas. I wrote an in-depthcase study about the transformation of Bishan Park in Singapore where the formerly canalized
Kallang River was transformed to a thriving ecosystem and recreational area, while retaining
its drainage and stormwater management functions. While I saw how impactful urban policy
and planning are for sustainability and livability, I decided to have a similarly high-impact
career as a policy-maker or a researcher. To achieve my goals, the academically challenging
and multicultural environments of UK universities, combined with unique teaching methods
would provide a perfect basis.