Ethan B. Kent
Program Associate 

Ethan Kent is an articulate and knowledgable expert in the art of placemaking. His dedication to the cause has taken him to more than 200 cities around the world, observing and photographing public spaces and the people using them.

Ethan's knowledge is grounded in his experience. During his 5 years at PPS, he has assisted on numerous technical assistance projects - from large-scale and complex transportation projects, to minor streetscape improvements to parks, plazas and transit facilities. He has guided much of the development and management of the PPS website and of PPS's collection of over half a million images.

Instrumental in the refinement of PPS' community participation techniques, Ethan regularly develops workshops and training courses for senior staff and has conducted many shows and “Place Game” workshops independently. He has performed analysis using still photography, time lapse filming, systematic observation techniques, and interviews, and has applied the results of this data gathering to the community visioning and design processes.

As inspiring and persuasive speaker, Ethan has led PPS' efforts to build a movement of students and young people engaged in placemaking. His presentations have taken him to dozens of universities and neighborhood groups across the country.

Ethan studied sociology, environmental studies and economics at Bowdoin College. He completed all course work for a masters degree in Environment and Community through Antioch University Seattle. Ethan continues to work on his thesis within the context of PPS.