Aljona Galazan

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND EVENT CREATOR

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I am Aljona Galazan – a landscape architect, guide, teacher, and event creator.

You might come across me taking action and speaking up in both the fields of architecture and education. I am an enthusiast of people-friendly urban space and urban cycling. I’ve initiated several projects on these topics and am involved in teaching and consulting. I speak and work in Estonian, Russian, and English.

You can contact me regarding the following topics:

● Organizing professional events
● Project management training, consulting, and audits
● Urban space simulation game with Lego® Serious Play® method
● Guest lectures on landscape architecture and spatial design
● Bicycle tours focused on urban space

I became inspired by the idea of the human-scale city in 2003, when I did a professional internship in Sweden, working on transforming a small town’s main street from car-oriented to human-centered. International travel, professional conferences, and meetings have shown me that inclusive, high-quality urban space and safe cities are becoming a new reality — and have given me the belief that our cities can also become better.

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LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

My professional experience ranges from individual design to thematic planning and advising local governments. My work has always focused on popularizing landscape architecture: it plays a vital role in shaping urban environments and people’s well-being. This has also led me to schools to speak about what makes good urban space. I hold a Master’s degree in landscape architecture and am a member of the Estonian Landscape Architects' Union.

PROJECT MANAGER

Since 2010, I have worked as a freelance event creator: I advise and organize thematic events with different teams – conferences, seminars, festivals, art projects, and award galas. I am known for my ability to move smoothly from creative ideation to practical implementation – from budgeting and risk assessment to bringing inspiring solutions to life. I’ve collaborated with creative unions, private clients, educational institutions, and civic initiatives, and have been part of several international teams. Since 2020, I hold an international project management certification.

TEACHER

My special passion is humanistic pedagogy. I’ve supported various educational initiatives – one of the longest collaborations is with the development program Noored Kooli (Teach for Estonia), which has lasted over ten years. I value education that fosters strong values, self-leadership, and creativity – in this, my great inspiration is Sir Ken Robinson, who argued that creativity and the development of individual talent should be at the heart of education.

Since 2022, I’ve been a guest lecturer at the Estonian University of Life Sciences in the landscape architecture department. In the course I created, “Spatial Design,” I encourage students to design human-friendly cities based on the principles of the New European Bauhaus and inspired by 20th and 21st-century thinkers such as William H. Whyte, Jane Jacobs, Jan Gehl, Fred Kent, and Melissa and Chris Bruntlett.

Additionally, I’m the author of the Estonian Academy of Arts Open Academy course “Practical Spatial Design,” and starting from 2025, I’m piloting courses on good urban space for high school students.

GUIDE

In the warmer seasons, I organize urban bike tours to help people get used to biking in the city, become more aware of their living environment, and encourage active and mindful interaction with it. With urban space enthusiasts, we ride in Tartu, Tallinn, Narva, and elsewhere; with spatial designers, we also explore cities abroad by bike, such as in Helsinki, Amsterdam, and more.

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A good urban space is comfortable, safe, and inspiring for everyone who interacts with it. The good process of spatial design involves people, brings them together, and strengthens the social cohesion of society.

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961)

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