Language

A UCLA study reveals that language barriers left many Asian residents in Los Angeles County without critical wildfire evacuation and recovery information, highlighting the need for more inclusive emergency communication strategies.

February 10, 2025 - Los Angeles Times

Terminology referring to people living without permanent housing changes frequently. Today, the term 'unhoused' is gaining ground among advocates. Why, and why does it matter?

June 29, 2022 - Diana Ionescu

The language we use as planners can serve many purposes and often hinders good communication rather than fostering it.

March 16, 2020 - Strong Towns

In removing all gendered language from its civil code, the city of Berkeley is tossing out some familiar nomenclature.

July 20, 2019 - The Mercury News

The suburb/city distinction is too general and prone to exceptions.

July 30, 2018 - Build a Better Burb

If you're not familiar with the world of emojis, bravo for holding out against the widely adopted trend. But now that (most) people have adopted pictographs for communication, could the shift in communication produce new kinds of landscapes?

September 12, 2014 - Sam Jacobs Studio

Kaid Benfield returns to his popular blog at the NRDC's Switchboard site after a three-week hiatus, with thoughts on the purpose of his writings and how "overly familiar vocabulary can lead to overly familiar thinking."

September 5, 2012 - Switchboard

What do you think of when you think of the word "route" in relation to transit? What about the word "line"? Jarrett Walker argues that the language used to describe transit can influence how people think about it.

February 7, 2011 - Human Transit

Recently, the new Journal of the American Planning Association editor Randall Crane circulated a message to US planning academics in which he asked for new submissions: "A reminder that JAPA is interested in your best work in any aspect of planning scholarship -- quantitative or qualitative, foreign or domestic -- that informs practice.  We would particularly like to broaden subject content over the next few years."  Temple Uni urban studies prof Ben Kohl replied: "For years I have wished that JAPA would show some interest in the lessons that ‘foreign’ planners and planning experience might have to offer.

December 10, 2010 - Bruce Stiftel

So what exactly is "sustainability"? Well, then, how about "civic engagement"? "smart growth”? Bill Barnes of the National League of Cities says that planning is overrun by verbiage with vague definitions, to the detriment of the process.

September 13, 2010 - Nation's Cities Weekly