Episode description

Are green gardens allowed, or encouraged on rooftops in most metropolitan areas? In a high-density low-parkland environment; are there really no spaces for greenery and plant-life?

Elizaveta Fakirova says that parks, natures, and green spaces can be on walls, rooftops, inside, and designed into other creative areas. Ingenuity and policy can enable a city of smart gardens, and will hopefully increase as we have more free-time.

Elizaveta is the 2020/21 German Chancellor Fellow with the Humboldt Foundation, where she is conducting a research-based project about green roof and facade policy implementation in Europe, aimed at transferring and applying that knowledge to a Russian context. Originally from Saint-Petersburg, Russia, she is also an interdisciplinary project manager with experience developing urban, cultural and educational projects. Practical working experience in two Russian urban consultancies, Strelka KB and Citymakers, as a project manager has established her as a professional who is able to take care of the full project circle - from initial idea to project implementation and further maintenance.

Elizaveta has experience living, studying and working in Saint-Petersburg, Moscow and Berlin. She speaks fluent English, advanced German and native Russian. She has traveled around 26 Russian cities in three months from Saint-Petersburg to Vladivostok. Elizaveta was among 15 national participants (out of 200+) in the UNESCO Young Professionals Programme in 2018. Elizaveta has a degree in architectural environmental design (Saint-Petersburg) and a master's degree in urban management from Technical University (Berlin).

Biography from World Urban Parks.