Kathy Madden was a pioneer of the modern placemaking movement and co-founder of Project for Public Spaces (PPS), where she spent more than four decades exploring a deceptively simple question: What makes a public space work for people?
Building on the observational methods of William “Holly” Whyte, Kathy helped develop placemaking into a practical, community-centered approach to designing and managing public spaces. She directed more than 300 projects, founded PPS's Urban Parks Institute, and developed influential training programs used around the world.
She co-authored How to Turn a Place Around, the landmark guide that introduced generations of planners, designers, and community leaders to placemaking. A famously ruthless editor, Kathy also helped establish the language used to describe the field itself.
After leaving PPS in 2018, she continued her work with longtime collaborator Fred Kent through PlacemakingX, the Placemaking Fund, and The Social Life Project.
Kathy died in October 2025.
Her legacy lives in thousands of places where someone has stopped to observe what people are actually doing before deciding what a place ought to become.
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