Jack Layton, longtime advocate for a national housing policy in Canada has succumbed to cancer just months after leading his New Democratic Party from third party status to official opposition.
Onetime president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Jack Layton kept homelessness on the political agenda. As leader of the New Democratic Party, he delivered the party from perennial third-party status to official opposition in the May 2011 federal election. Just months after this victory, however, Layton has been felled by cancer at age 61. The Toronto Star reports,
"As president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in 2000, [Layton] built a nationwide campaign on affordable housing that led the federal government to commit more than $1 billion to the problem. For good measure, Layton always pointed out that while he spearheaded the campaign that got mayors of major Canadian cities to declare homelessness a national disaster, then prime minister Jean Chrétien apparently told him that after giving some money to the provinces, Ottawa had lost interest in the issue.
Layton, who wrote a book on homelessness, would repeat that anecdote throughout his leadership campaign. The establishment did not care about affordable housing and Layton got results. Ottawa was broken, as he would say during his last campaign, and he was going to fix it."
FULL STORY: Jack Layton dead at 61

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie