Eric Lucas

Optimistic landscape architect and city builder advancing people-centered design across the Midwest and beyond.

Eric Lucas serves as the CEO of MKSK, bringing more than 30 years of experience directing landscape and planning projects across the country to his role as a leader, designer, and planner. Trained and practicing as a landscape architect, Eric is focused on improving the social, economic, and ecological health of communities through design, economic development, and policy work. Eric has led a wide range of projects, from parks to regional and citywide plans across more than twenty states and three continents.

Raised in Indiana, Eric’s early exposure to Midwestern landscapes inspired a global exploration of understanding how people connect to place, shaping a career rooted in thoughtful, site-centered planning and design.

His practice emphasizes collaboration, bringing together residents, institutions, and public and private partners to create shared vision and enduring impact. Since returning to the Midwest in 2007 after a decade on the East Coast, he has focused on invigorating Rust Belt communities through memorable public space design, walkable urbanism, people-centered revitalization, and strategic reinvestment strategies. This success has expanded his work to communities nationwide seeking similar transformative outcomes.

As CEO, Eric extends this mission across MKSK’s national practice, including championing the firm’s Community Impact Studio, which provides pro-bono services to under-resourced communities. He is an active voice in the profession through speaking, teaching, and civic leadership, and believes that better communities are built through shared effort, innovation, and optimism.