Shaun Donovan at HUD

After eight years of atrophy and neglect, things are looking up for the future of housing in the US.

Shaun Donovan, currently the Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development in New York City, has just been nominated for the post of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Donovan is an architect by education with both bachelor and masters degrees from Harvard. Expect some innovative ideas and some aggressive action from HUD in the next few years.

In stark contrast to the previous Administration's world view that "government is the problem," Donovan brings a decidedly proactive attitude along with intellectual vigor to the post.

Santa came early this year.

A link to Obama's weekly YouTube message about housing and the Donovan nomination:

http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/secretary_of_housing_and_urban_development_announced_in_weekly_address/