8 Planning Terms to Retire in 2017

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).

1 minute read

January 9, 2017, 2:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Confusion

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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. 

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