Elija Kozak

Elija Kozak is a graduate of the Master in Public Administration (MPA) program and a Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, specializing in urban planning. Originally from Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and now based between Cambridge, MA, and Rotterdam, Netherlands, Elija is an experienced urban planner with a strong interest in the intersection of urban governance and the built environment—particularly how the public sector shapes urban development. With a professional background in architecture, Elija is dedicated to advancing transparent and democratic city planning practices across Russia, the Baltic States, and other former Soviet republics. Elija’s work explores how cities with traditionally top-down governance can incorporate public participation, bottom-up initiatives, and diverse stakeholder engagement to better serve the public good. Elija believes that cities are key drivers of equitable economic growth, social cohesion, and national geopolitical influence. Their research, Developing Urban Policy Recommendations for Democratic Russia, focuses on establishing new governance frameworks and policy recommendations to facilitate an equitable and sustainable transition from authoritarian to democratic forms of urban development in Russia and the broader post-Soviet region.