Aleksandra Katasonova

Aleksandra Katasonova studied Architecture in the Ural State Academy of Art and Architecture. Her professional portfolio includes diverse number of urban planning and urban design projects of different scale (from city-scale to local territories) in Russia.

After her bachelors, she joined the municipal urban planning department in Ufa. During this period she has been working as a project leader with the main focus on the Ufa Development Strategy. In 2013 together with her colleagues she established the first urban planning forum in Ufa. Between 2013 and 2016 she was a curator and program director of the forum working on agenda and communication.

In 2015-2018 as a partner of the consulting bureau UrbanBairam she worked on complex long-term development projects with municipal and private clients.

In 2017 Aleksandra came to Berlin and Hamburg together with a group of young civil leaders during the educational project “Stadt im Dialog”. The experience of studying diverse civil initiatives raised her interest in civil participation in the urban planning process.

Aleksandra joined TSPA with her research as a German Chancellor fellow of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She believes that civil participation based on common values is one of the important ingredients for sustainable development and city resilience.