Jargon Watch: A Field Guide To Sprawl
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 03.23.09
Images by Jim Wark from a Field Guide to Sprawl
I thought I knew a lot of these terms from my days in architecture and development, but there is a whole new vocabulary out there, catalogued by Dolores Hayden in her book A Field Guide to Sprawl. Above is an "Alligator"- "Real estate that eats money – for instance, a plot that a developer has subdivided and is paying taxes on, but hasn’t yet developed."
This is Ground Cover: -"Inexpensive, easily bulldozed buildings such as self-storage units, constructed to generate income while a developer holds land."
And this is a LULU: "A “locally unwanted land use” creates a problem for people because of the way it looks, smells, sounds or pollutes. It may be a parking lot, a waste incinerator, a prison, or a nuclear facility."
Great fun, via the Infrastructurist, who starts his post with the incomprehensible:
You know that leapfrog pod of snoutnoses out in the rhubarb by the edge node?
More on sprawl:
Why Tackling Urban Sprawl Is More About Proper Planning Than Eco-Towns & Green Buildings
Big Surprise: America’s Fittest Cities Are Also Most Walkable Cities
::The Problems with Green Sprawl
::Ten Things Wrong With Sprawl
California Set to Adopt Nation's First Anti-Sprawl Law
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
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- Focus on Focus Earth: "24" Pledged to Go Green More Than A Year Ago; Is It Carbon Neutral Yet?
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