Houston Planning Director Patrick Walsh Passes Away at 45

Mike Morris and Dug Begley report that Patrick Walsh, who served for five years as Houston planning director, passed away on Friday after battling glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer.

Walsh is credited with "using his five years in that post to nudge the nation’s largest city without zoning toward more innovative thinking."

"A civil engineer as well as an urban planner, Walsh was a Carnegie Mellon University and University of Texas at Austin graduate. The Houston native graduated from Bellaire High School, where he was a drum major," according to the article.

Patrick Walsh sat down with Planetizen for a "Planners Across America" interview shortly after Hurricane Harvey and resulting flooding ravaged the city.