CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama today named New York City housing commissioner Shaun Donovan to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, turning to a former Clinton administration aide with a national reputation for developing affordable housing.

Obama praised Donovan's record at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where he managed a $7.5 billion plan with a goal of putting a half-million New Yorkers in affordable housing.

The Harvard-educated architect also kept foreclosures to a minimum in the city's low- and moderate-income home ownership plan, with just five out of 17,000 participating homes.

"We can't keep throwing money at the problem, hoping for a different result," Obama said during his radio address released early today. "We need to approach the old challenge of affordable housing with new energy, new ideas, and a new, efficient style of leadership. We need to understand that the old ways of looking at our cities just won't do."

Obama's selection of Donovan marks the 11th post he has filled in his cabinet, in just over a month since his election as the nation's first African American president. Still to come are announcements of his selections to head the Central Intelligence Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the departments of energy, education, interior, labor, transportation and agriculture.