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Chicago

Detroit official will lead Chicago Department of Planning and Development: report

Maurice Cox steered Detroit’s “20-minute neighborhoods” initiative aimed at ensuring every resident has necessities within a close distance

Maurice Cox (Credit: Urban Land Institute and iStock)
Maurice Cox (Credit: Urban Land Institute and iStock)

Detroit’s top planning official reportedly has been tapped to become the next head of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development.

Maurice Cox is leaving his job in the Motor City to take the Chicago planning commissioner post in the fall, according to the Detroit News.

Chicago’s planning department is currently led by Acting Commissioner Eleanor Gorski.

Cox led Detroit’s “20-minute neighborhoods” initiative, which aimed to ensure residents had all necessities within a short distance. Crain’s Detroit said he’s also known to be tough on developers and architects.

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The New York-born Cox served as a council member and mayor in Charlottesville, Virginia, from 1996-2004, and also served as associate dean at Tulane University’s School of Architecture and design director at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Gorski took over the Chicago department after the resignation of David Reifman in the waning days of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s term earlier this year.

Reifman generally was viewed as pro-development, leaving a track record of shepherding major projects to the finish line, most recently Sterling Bay’s Lincoln Yards and Related Midwest’s The 78, both of which won approval in the 11th hour of Emanuel’s administration.

If Mayor Lori Lightfoot does nominate Cox for the Chicago job, he still would face City Council confirmation. [Detroit News] — John O’Brien