Written by Steve Davies, Ethan Kent, and Josh Kent

Kathleen (“Kathy”)  A. Madden, a prominent urban public spaces expert and placemaking leader, died on October 20, 2025, at her home in Brooklyn following a brief hospitalization. Kathy, co-founder of the internationally recognized Project for Public Spaces (PPS), brought Minnesota sensibilities to her lifelong commitment to helping people improve their lives and communities. Even after a debilitating stroke in 2020, she remained involved and engaged in the global placemaking movement, inspiring people around the world. She was 78.

Kathy Madden was an environmental designer who began working with PPS, helping to found the organization, in 1975.  For over 40 years, as part of PPS’s senior leadership team, Kathy was involved in all aspects of the organization’s work, helping to build the organization into a globally recognized leader in placemaking.  She directed over 300 research and urban design projects and training programs throughout the U.S and abroad, and was involved in some of PPS’s most noteworthy projects.. Until leaving the staff of the organization in 2018, she also served as director of PPS’s Placemaking Training and Public Space Research and Publications programs.

In 2018, she and her husband and long-term collaborator, Fred Kent, formed the Placemaking Fund, launching two inaugural programs to expand the impact of placemaking: PlacemakingX and the Social Life Project.  As part of this work, she created over 100 articles on public spaces and attended international conferences and events, most recently Global Placemaking Summits in Mexico City and Toronto.

Kathy is best known for her work in placemaking education, having co-authored and written books and articles, including the PPS best-selling publication How to Turn a Place Around, which has been translated into over 10 languages. She also launched  PPS’s popular placemaking training course of the same name. Indeed, the term “placemaking” was first used in Kathy’s educational materials to describe PPS’s collaborative approach to the design and management of public spaces. 

In 1995, Kathy became PPS’s director of the Urban Parks Institute with a major grant from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund (now Wallace Foundation). The Institute brought together over 2,000 park leaders from both the private and public sectors in eight national conferences and four regional workshops. The Institute produced extensive research and publications on urban parks as community spaces and established a major online resource center for best practices and research.

Before working at PPS, Kathy worked at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies and at the New York City Parks Department, where she evaluated park equipment and street furniture. While at PPS, she taught for six years at the Pratt School of Architecture Graduate Program in Urban Design.  She obtained a BA in Design, Marketing, and Advertising from the University of Minnesota and a B.F.A. in Environmental Design from Parsons Institute of Design in New York. 

Kathy was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, the daughter of Jim (James)  and Alice Barton Madden. Her father owned two hotels–the Pine Edge Inn in Little Falls and Madden’s Resort in Brainerd, where the family also lived. This unique upbringing taught Kathy the foundations of successful public spaces, having spent her childhood making sure people feel welcome, comfortable, and happy. 

Kathy is survived by her husband, Fred Kent, stepsons  Ethan (Aley) Kent and Josh (Nadine) Kent, and four step-grandchildren, Sawyer and Lyman Kent (children of Ethan and Aley), and Ella and Julia Kent (children of Josh and Nadine)--who immensely enriched her personal and professional life. Additionally, she is survived by her sister, Deb (Brian) Thuringer of Brainerd, Minnesota,  nieces Abbey (Brad) Pieper and Ben (Becky) Thuringer, and five great-nephews.

A celebration of life will be held in Brooklyn on Saturday, December 6th at a location and time to be announced. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes a donation to the Placemaking Fund.

Editor’s Note: Kathy’s obituary was originally published on The Social Life Project website. 

At Project for Public Spaces, we extend our deepest condolences to Kathy's family. Her legacy lives on through the people she inspired, the public spaces she helped shape, and the continued work of the organizations she helped build, including Project for Public Spaces. She will be missed and remembered dearly for her commitment to helping people improve their lives and communities.