Maurice D. Cox
Commissioner, Department of Planning and Development
Chicago, IL, USA

Maurice D. Cox was appointed Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) by Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and confirmed by the City Council  on October 16, 2019. Cox is responsible for leading DPD’s economic development, planning and zoning functions while fostering community-improvement initiatives throughout the city. In his previous capacity as director of planning and development for the City of Detroit, Cox created a new, resident-centered planning and development department and led innovative urban planning and revitalization strategies that championed the equitable redevelopment of neighborhoods that fostered population growth and new mixed-use, mixed-income investment. Cox was formerly the design director of the National Endowment of the Arts under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. He also served as mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, from 2002 and 2004, following six years as a City Councilor. Cox is a former professor at Syracuse University, the University of Virginia and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design; a former associate dean for community engagement at Tulane University; and former director of the Tulane City Center in New Orleans. He also practiced architecture for 10 years in Florence, Italy, where he met his wife and raised their two children. A native of Brooklyn, he has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Cooper Union in New York City and an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Detroit Mercy.