Ed Pettitt is an urban planner and One Health specialist whose academic path spans human biology at Cornell University, global health and healthcare management at the University of Texas School of Public Health, and doctoral studies in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University.
His work integrates community engagement, tactical urbanism, parks, trails, and greenspaces, multimodal transportation, disaster resiliency, and placemaking/placekeeping to improve health, equity, and environmental outcomes in historically underserved communities. Drawing on deep experience in public health, global health research, and equitable infrastructure planning, he bridges human, environmental, and systems health through practice grounded in One Health principles.
His service as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana profoundly shaped his career, embedding participatory approaches, capacity building, and health-environment linkages that continue to inform his planning and policy work today. Professionally, he advances community-driven solutions at the intersection of public health, climate resilience, energy, and transportation, ensuring that urban systems support both people and ecosystems.
Outside of work, he explores cities through e-scooter riding, urban sketching, and watercolor painting, creative practices that deepen his observational approach to place and community.