Toronto’s new chief planner thinks Rob Ford is “interesting”

Jennifer Keesmaat, a principal at Toronto design firm Dialog, is the city’s new chief planner—and she says she wants to focus on the contentious transit issue (along with the waterfront and priority neighbourhoods). There’s already been plenty of speculation on potential friction between Keesmaat, who strongly champions walkable ’hoods, and Rob Ford, who really, really likes cars. However, we wouldn’t count on any big planning showdowns with the mayor’s office in the near future. The new planning chief seems very diplomatic—when asked about Ford, she said he was “interesting” and was glad to hear he always has his door open. [Globe and Mail]