Super List of Planning Jargon

[mendelman]

Inspired by office conversations and this thread

We need a list of all the words or phrases in planning.

List the ones that are used the most, liked the least, over-used but necessary, mis-used, etc.

I'll start:

Proactive
Fasttrack
Bulk regulations
Aesthetically pleasing

After a while I'll get them into a list.

 

[Planderella]

Replanning

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

I hate synergy, synergize, synergistic...hate, hate, hate.

 

[Seabishop]

PARADIGM !!!
Smart Growth
New Urbanism
Big Box
McMansions
Creative Class . . .

 

[Gedunker]

Urban Sprawl
Certificate of Appropriateness

I truly dis-like the former because the sprawl is less dense than urban development, thus it cannot be urban. It is sub-urban sprawl (I use the hyphen to accent that it is "less than" urban sprawl). I dis-like the latter because is is pretentious and mealy-mouthed.

 

[BKM]

This is way, way trivial, but the good ones have been taken!

Overall, I hate "verbing" good nouns: "prioritize" and the like. "Utilize" is the worst-why not just utilize "use"?

I also hate the term "signage"

 

[Planner Groupie]

This is such a good thread for me. As you all know Planning Jargon always excites me

 

[Tom R]

woids

Impact, impacting
Final Plat (If its a Plat, of course its final.)
mitigate
community character
rural character (Who are all these characters?)
up-scale

 

[H]

Re: woids

mitigate

What an overused piece of legalese this word has become. When someone says, “mitigate,” I always think the worst. I expect to hear things like, “if you let us build in the wetlands and kill that species we will “mitigate” it by building a new lake that no one can use (ie drainage basin)”! :-D

 

[JNA]

engage, engagement
close proximity
interoperability

 

[GeogPlanner]

This is such a good thread for me. As you all know Planning Jargon always excites me

SPDES, baby!

...anything abbreviated and pronounceable

 

[ludes98]

Ordinance
Integral
Accessible
LRV (Light Reflectance Value)
EIFS (Exerior Insulation Finish System)
Scale (esp. pedestrian)
District/Zone
Sight Vision Triangles

EDIT: Added words to acronyms.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

Bike/ped

God, if I EVER have to go to another stupid metro BIKE/PED meeting I will take my own set of razor blades and end it all right there.

 

[donk]

My list includes

streetscape
PPP (public private partnerships)

 

[mike gurnee]

"Sight Vision Triangles"

Cite Mr. X for an improper sight triangle on his site.

 

[Cardinal]

Some economic development terms

TIF, or verbed as in "TIF it" or "TIFfed-out" (tax increment financing)
Downtown Revitalization
Urban Renewal
LMI (low- and moderate-income)
Section 42 (LMI housing tax credit)
turn-key
Enterprise Zone

Planning terms:

senior-only
development constraint

Some terms about roads:

Street width "back-to-back" or "face-to-face"
TWLTL (two-way left turn lane, or "suicide lane")
traffic calming
design speed
ADT (average daily traffic)

 

[mendelman]

Acronyms

Not to be nit-picky, but if you are going to add acronyms, then you should say what they mean or at least list the words that make-up the acronym.

As in the following from donk:

PPP (public private partnerships)

thanks

 

[Dan]

Second "utilize."

I wrote an entire zoning code that does not use the word "shall." Planners love "shall," for some reason," when "must" or "will" can be used.

Planners also love "said" and repeating numbers, as in "Said freestanding signage shall not exceed six (6) feet in height." Why not say "Freestanding signs may be up to 6' high."?

I've also heard "501 (c) (3)" in place of "nonprofit organizations."

Just as Indian English tends to be stilted and formal ("You will display the sign at a height of no more than six feet above the grade, please."), and Australian English very informal ("No bloody signies above two meters, mate!"), American English tends to be pretentious. Why say in three or four words what can be said using six or seven very fancy words?

Someday, surf around and check out plannig terminology in other English-speaking countries. Where will you find land subdivided into erfs? What countries call billboards hoardings? Where are yards called gardens?

 

[boiker]

shall

on the advice of a number of corporation councils, the legal use of the word shall is more binding that other terms and I've been highly encouraged to use it.

Otherwise, i hate shall. I think I'll begin to use shalt

"Thou sign shalt be no more than twenty times the length of King George III's outstretched foot lest the petitioner be pummeled with stones."

 

[mike gurnee]

shall

There is a KY Court of Appeals ruling that the word "shall" is permissive rather than mandatory...

 

[Cardinal]

shall

There is a KY Court of Appeals ruling that the word "shall" is permissive rather than mandatory...

Interesting. I have always thought thar "must" has a very clear meaning, and shall use that word from now on. I wonder sometimes if the attorneys don't just push the language so that it is difficult for most people to read (and therefore, they need attorneys).

 

[Gedunker]

I wonder sometimes if the attorneys don't just push the language so that it is difficult for most people to read (and therefore, they need attorneys).

Hey, that's one of their secrets. Don't go spreading the money-making tips around like that, Cardinal, lest some lowly planner-types figure out how to get rich...;-)

I have read definitions that state that PERSON means "a single individual or any group of individuals". It absolutely is not plural. Drives me crazy.

Our Zoning Ordinance states the following -- " . . . the word'SHALL' is to be considered as mandatory". I use it all the time.

 

[DecaturHawk]

What about the terms used to describe the piece of public right-of-way generally located between the sidewalk and the curb? It's called something different everywhere I go. When I worked in Iowa, it was called the "parking" or "parking strip." In the Chicago suburbs, we called it the "parkway." In Michigan, it was referred to as the "boulevard." What do you call it where you work? And why can't we settle on a universal term for it?

 

[Tom R]

name

In Ohio its a Devil Strip. Don't ask why.

 

[Cardinal]

Street terrace, or simply, terrace.

 

[Gedunker]

In southern Indiana, the area between the walk and the curb is the "grass plat". No idea where the term originated.

I like "terrace" but doubt that I could get it started here without all sorts of eyebrows arcing.

 

[BKM]

Parkway strip, here, too. Although the word I would really use to describe them here is "rare."

Which leads to the next glossary term: "monolithic sidewalk"

 

[Mud Princess]

Here's a term I hate -- I can't believe it's even a word:

"implementable"

as in "is your plan sitting on a shelf, or is it implementable?"

 

[Gedunker]

I have not heard or seen "monolithic sidewalk" but a "monolithic curb" is one built integral to the sidewalk.

[ENGINEER] "An unacceptable practice that results in higher costs down the road."[/ENGINEER]

 

[mendelman]

Here's a term I hate -- I can't believe it's even a word:

"implementable"

as in "is your plan sitting on a shelf, or is it implementable?"

My answer would be - "Yes, one can implement my plan, but not by jerk-offs like you"

And then my weekdays would be free to take naps.

 

[jordanb]

Sidewalk to curb strip

http://hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_60.html

 

[Seabishop]

"Planting strip" is our term.

Other planning jargon includes:

Functional areas
Best management practices (I hate that one)
Regionalization
Overlays
TOD's
FAR's
and of course, COMPREHENSIVE(LY)

 

[Cardinal]

Based on Jordan's maps, I would have to say the "terrace" is a very Wisconcentric planning term.

 

[DoneGoneBlue]

Planning terms I thought I'd add: VISION, NIMBY, and LINKAGE

 

[DecaturHawk]

Based on Jordan's maps, I would have to say the "terrace" is a very Wisconcentric planning term.

OT: did you look at any of the other dialect maps at that web site? Except for the Boston area, it appears that only Wisconsonites use the term "bubbler" for a drinking fountain.

I also get a complete kick out of all the people down South who refer to all carbonated beverages as "Coke."

"What kind of Coke y'all got?"
"Well, we got Pepsi Coke, Dr. Pepper Coke,and Squirt Coke."
"Ain't ya got no Coke Coke?"
"Nope, that's one kinda Coke we ain't got."

 

[Friend of Flavel]

Dialogue/ed - "We need to dialogue with the developer regarding the proposed setbacks, Madam chair." HATE this!

Double-ditto - Utilize

"Generally conforms with.." Hate this, why not just "complies"

Passive voice aka Plannerese. Damn lawyers have us too scared to write a declarative sentence.

 

[Rem]

OT:Except for the Boston area, it appears that only Wisconsonites use the term "bubbler" for a drinking fountain.

Bubbler is the common term used in Australia.

We call the "terrace", the nature strip.

 

[Wannaplan?]

I poop on the creative class craze.

 

[Gedunker]

OT: did you look at any of the other dialect maps at that web site? Except for the Boston area, it appears that only Wisconsonites use the term "bubbler" for a drinking fountain.

New Englanders are also among the 2.37% us that refer to a milkshake as a "frappe". Oddly, there is a small group in west central Iowa (Council Bluffs?) that also use the term.

 

[NHPlanner]

New Englanders are also among the 2.37% us that refer to a milkshake as a "frappe". Oddly, there is a small group in west central Iowa (Council Bluffs?) that also use the term.

Damn right we do! Always called 'em frappes.....you should have seen the look on the face of the server when I asked for a frappe in Muncie, Indiana.

 

[giff57]

New Englanders are also among the 2.37% us that refer to a milkshake as a "frappe". Oddly, there is a small group in west central Iowa (Council Bluffs?) that also use the term.

Better check your geography, that spot is more in El Guapo's neck of the woods.

 

[Gedunker]

Better check your geography, that spot is more in El Guapo's neck of the woods.

My bad, it is eG country: the jumping off point for the great trek westward.

 

[Doitnow]

Since I am a re-entered member its taking me time to get a hold on the forums here.
But this one i think competes with the english language usage one.

I just cant wait to start typing.

Guys I totally am bowled over by

PPP ( thanks mendelmann)

and Dan we call call the billboards hoardings out here and say look at those guys" they call hoardings as billboards out there"

How can you miss these:

'Holistic Approach",
Integrated Planning.
Strategies,
" Hence this may be permissible".
' Implementable' WOW! We sat that the plans have a clearly defined
' Implementaiom Strategy'
'Redensification'
R&R
'Redevelopment Plans'
'Development Friendly Plans'
'BAlanced development'

So frankly I may not hate some of them. Some of them I just love them. Love-hate them rather.

many many more to come....

 

[Tranplanner]

Guys I totally am bowled over by PPP ( thanks mendelmann)

If you like P3, you'll love P6 (Private Partner Profits, Public Partner Pays)...

 

[Plannerbabs]

LULU's! Locally Unwanted Land Uses. And BANANA's--Build Absolutely Nothing Anytime Near Anyone

 

[Doitnow]

A few months ago i assisted a senior well known professional in presenting a paper titled... Guess what P4

Public private peoples partnership.

Now isnt that interesting.

So we have P3, P4 and P6.

 

[JNA]

Taken from a Census Report:

new erronous information

 

[nerudite]

Oh oh! I heard a good one today.

scope creep -- when the scope of a project being planned by committee starts to veer off course.

 

[Tranplanner]

One that is really starting to bug me, and which my boss (sorry boss) uses a lot:

"Critical Path"

As in: "The critical path for this project dictates we do x, then y, then z".

 

[mike gurnee]

Critical Path

He must have taken the same course I did, with the text, "Critical Path Scheduling: Management Control through CPM and PERT"