A collection of planning and transportation experts humbly submits a list of words and terms that have lost their value (if they ever had any to begin with).
Josh Cohen uses the occasion of the new year to think about improving the use of language related to cities.
Like any subculture, urbanists and city planners and transportation nerds have their own jargon. And though sometimes industry-specific terms are necessary and helpful, they often obscure meaning and keep the subculture insular.
Citing the continued need to improve the planning language (sometimes called "plannerese" here at Planetizen), Cohen spoke to a collection of transportation and planning experts to produce a list of eight candidate terms to retire in 2017, including "Smart Cities," Cyclist and Pedestrian," "Road Diet," and more.
Read the full story: What Planning Jargon Do You Want to See Disappear?
Toward a Vocabulary of Micromobility
All these newfangled devices and no universal nomenclature.
No More 'Manholes' in Berkeley
In removing all gendered language from its civil code, the city of Berkeley is tossing out some familiar nomenclature.
Good Jargon and Bad
Some planning jargon actually clarifies rather than confuses.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
Mamdani sent nearly 6,000 pied-à-terre tax warnings to homes that didn’t qualify
A judge has ordered the administration to cancel thousands of pied-à-terre tax notices after it sent 35% of them erroneously.
25 states, cities sue the EPA over erased power plant emissions limits
The coalition also intends to sue the EPA for not regulating emissions from gas-fired power plants.
Newsom vetoes giving CA tribes greater voice in water projects
In his veto letter, Newsom said the bill would add ‘uncertainty’ to the state’s fight to secure Californians’ water supplies.
Michigan Senate votes to revise 'lax' dam safety laws
A Bridge Michigan investigation found more than 100,000 Michigan residents live in the floodpath of a high or significant-hazard dam.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello