Countryside

The Countryside is made up of land areas devoted to nonurban land uses - agriculture, forestry or large natural areas.

Countryside outside the Clear Edge and Open Space inside the Clear Edge make up Open Land.

Within large areas of Countryside there are urban enclaves that are components of the Communities that support the economic and social activities of the Countryside. There are also individual dwelling Units dispersed in the Countryside. Some of these Units are accessory uses that support agriculture, forestry and other extensive (nonurban) land uses. Because of past development practice, many of the widely disbursed (a.k.a., scattered) Units are urban dwellings. As noted in STARK CONTRAST Section II Part 3, “Focused Tactics to Support Immediate Action Inside and Outside the Clear Edge,” any new urban use should be within 1/4 mile of daily Services and Jobs. This means new urban Units will almost always fall within the Clear Edge around urban enclaves of the Dooryard, Cluster and Neighborhood scale.

Critical Mass

To achieve Alpha status, any component of human settlement patterns, from the Dooryard to the New Urban Region scale, a Critical Mass of economic, social and physical activity must exist.

While achieving Critical Mass is a critical factor in reaching a Balance of J / H / S / R / A, there is no single measure of Critical Mass. The Critical Mass varies by the scale of the organic component and by the specific location and context of the component.

In general usage, the necessity of achieving "critical mass" is required before an event, reaction or conversion can take place and is most often associated with nuclear reactions. However, there are countless applications of the concept of "critical mass" and Critical Mass in the Economic, Social and Physical Spheres. For this reason it is clear why Critical Mass is a key concept in consideration of human settlement patterns.

There are 15 references to critical mass in The Shape of the Future that are consistent with the general definition. The phrase was not defined in APPENDIX ONE - LEXICON. Critical Mass and critical mass are used in TRILO-G.

‘D’

Density

Density is a measure of the intensity of human use and activity.

Disaggregated but Balanced Community

Disaggregated but Balanced Community is an Alpha Community that exists outside the Clear Edge around the Core of a New Urban Region where the components (Villages, Neighborhoods and Clusters) are separated by Countryside.

Disaggregated but Balanced Communities can also be found in Urban Support Regions (USR) outside the Clear Edges of the Community or Multi-Community scale Urban Enclaves in the USR.

Domains of Human Experience

The lives and activities of citizens, Households and their Enterprises, Institutions and Agencies, is a rich mosaic of events, relationships and resources. Taken together, they are the “human experience.” How satisfying this experience is for citizens is summarized by reference to “quality of life.”

To help analyze the human experience, scholars recognize activities into categories. One useful set of categories is:

• Economic

• Social

• Physical

These three overlapping domains of human experience are reflected in, and have impact on, human settlement patterns.  For further information on the “domains of human experience,” refer to Chapter 4 of The Shape of the Future and to Chapter 4, Box 2 .

Dooryard

Dooryard is an organic component of human settlement pattern. An Alpha Dooryard is a functional grouping of Units. The Dooryard has historic roots as housing for an extended family or an intentional grouping of Households. The Dooryard is the next larger scale of physical (spacial) orientation and proximity beyond the Unit.

In contemporary settlement patterns the Dooryard’s identity and functionality has atrophied while the need for social cohesiveness at this scale has grown. Much of what is attributed to “a great neighborhood” actually happens at the Dooryard scale. One way to think of a Dooryard is to consider the front doors a person can see from his or her front steps. Another perspective is that a Dooryard is comprised of the Units one could easily get to in an emergency. Another image of the Dooryard is the group of Units that one would first consider going to “borrow a cup of sugar.”

Alpha Clusters are composed of Alpha Dooryards. Beta Dooryards may evolve into Alpha Dooryards.

Also see Alpha and Beta as well as Unit and Cluster.

Dysfunction and Dysfunctional

The terms dysfunction and dysfunctional are used extensively in TRILO-G. The use is consistent with the primary dictionary definition:

"Abnormal (disordered) or impaired functioning, especially of a bodily system or organ.”

These terms are used often because no other synonym conveys an appropriate meaning for most applications.

‘E’

Enterprise

Enterprise is one of three forms of Organization beyond the scale of the Household. Enterprise is an Organization created to generate profit, a monetary return on investment of time, effort and resources. The use of the phrase “ Enterprise , Institution and Agency” is intended to encompass all Organizations beyond the scale of the Household.

          See Agency, Institution and Household.

Enterprise Capacity

Enterprise capacity is the ability of an Enterprise to carry out its intended function and show a profit. Enterprises that lack enterprise capacity are subsidized or declare bankruptcy. See Institutional Capacity and Agency Capacity.

Expanding the Tax Base

           See Tax-Base Expansion.

Ex-urban

This word is used in a broad range of confusing ways and is avoided in TRILO-G and The Three Step Process.

See APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS and LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERN at the end of this GLOSSARY.

‘F’

Family

Since publication of The Shape of the Future, the use of the word “family” has been recognized as a source of misconceptions concerning human settlement patterns and thus becomes a Core Confusing Word. In TRILO-G and the Three-Step Process of HANDBOOK, “family” has been replaced by “Household.” Avoiding the use of the word family, unless it is further described or put in context, is suggested.

There have always been a number of uses of the word “family.” The word family has been overused and caused confusion when discussing human settlement patterns but recent data indicates that it is time the recognize the problem in a formal way. The reason to drop the use of the word “family” at this time is the confusion caused by referring to the occupants of a single dwelling Unit as a family because of the assumptions that citizens draw from what they assume “family” to mean.

The general assumption is that a family is a husband, a wife and their children unless the description includes a modifier such as “extended” as in “extended family.” Consideration of a typical Dooryard suggests that “family” is an inappropriate way to describe the occupants of the majority of the dwelling Units.

The sample Dooryard profiled below is made up of Single Household Detached (SHD) dwellings with a 2006 assessed value ranging from $525,000 to $625,000. The demographic profile of the occupants is somewhat older but otherwise mirrors the New Urban Region profile. If the following data applies to what municipal comprehensive plans typically call “a stable single family neighborhood,” consider the occupant profile of Units in other contexts.

Here is the data for one 10-Unit Dooryard. In this Dooryard there are Units with the following occupants:

            1. A mother, a father and their young children

            2. A mother and father with one minor child plus minor children of the mother from a previous marriage

            3. A mother, father and a grandchild

            4. A mother, father, an adult child and her daughter (a grandchild)

            5.  A mother and father and two adult children

            6. A father with minor children and a new companion

            7. A mother with adult children but none living in the Unit

            8. A mother and father with an adult child but not living in the Unit

            9. Two empty nest couples where both husband and wife have children but no children in common and none living in the Unit

Out of the 10 Units how many are occupied by a “family”? One, two, three, seven? All the Units are occupied by Households and thus the use of the term in discussing human settlement patterns.

Beyond the complexity of relationships in the Units within a specific Dooryard, it is well documented that a mother, father and minor children - blended families or not - make up less than 25% of the Households in the United States. In spite of this, most houses are designed as if they are going to be occupied by a “traditional family.”

There is nothing “wrong” with any of these living arrangements, the majority are just not what comes to mind when the word “family” is used and, as suggested below, skew the discussion of functional human settlement patterns.

Even more important, the categories into which the 10 Units in this Dooryard can be classified have changed significantly over a short period of time. Over the last five years, of the 10 Households, four have completely changed with a new set of occupants. One Unit has been home to three separate Households in five years. In five of the other Units, persons within the Household have changed, thus shifting the Unit from one of the nine categories listed above to another. The occupants of one Unit have changed categories seven times in nine years. Over a 5 year period, only one Household has stayed the same with the same individuals and the same status. Ninety percent turn over in 5 years is a huge rate of change and is far more flux than is usually thought of as “turnover.” Most “turnover” calculations are based on “sale-of-Unit” data. That metric, and most other perceptions of the family, are archaic.

Yes, there are Dooryards, especially ones with Units that were built recently, where a majority of the Units are occupied by a mother, a father and their children. That will change in time. When the Units in the profiled Dooryard were sold about 10 years ago, five Units were occupied by a mother, a father and minor children and one Unit by a mother and minor children.

See LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS at the end of this GLOSSARY.

Five Natural Laws, The

            See Natural Laws, The Five.

Floor Area Ratio (FAR)

The ratio between the land area and the building area on a given site or in a given area - i.e., Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 2.5 within a half mile of transit station platform. FARs are abstract numbers unless related to a specific geographical area or organic component. For instance the Alpha Village that forms the Core of a minimum density Alpha Community (10 persons per acre) will range from .25 to .50.

‘G’

Goals - First Tier and Second Tier

First-Tier Goals are simple, general goals upon which almost everyone can agree. They are sometimes called “principles.”

Second-Tier Goals are equally important, but far more complex, and therefore need to be established by a consensus and within a framework of well-articulated First-Tier Goals and with an agreed to Vocabulary.

The description of these two sets of goals and the differentiation between them is a major subject of HANDBOOK Section V. Step One - Goal Setting.

Governance

Governance is the intentional process to organize and manage society. Governance is the responsibility of Agencies.

Governance Practitioners

Governance practitioners are those who are elected, appointed, employed or retained by Agencies responsible for governance.

Governments

Governments are groups of Agencies created on behalf of citizens of nation-states, states and sub-state “political subdivisions” - counties, municipalities. Governments are intended to meet societies need for governance. In democratic societies, the creation, the grouping and relationships between Agencies is established by a constitution or similar popularly adopted and amendable agreement among citizens.

Growth

In the context of changes in human settlement pattern, growth is often equated with “prosperity.” In the long term, the opposite is the case. This topic is examined in BRIDGES Chapter 11 “Fundamental Change or Collapse: There is No Time But the Present,” and the resources cited therein.

A threshold knowledge of physics leads one to understand that in organic systems there is no Sustainable future prospect for annual percentage growth in the consumption of any tangible, material parameter. Food, shelter, water, air - in fact every resource humans depend on for life other than safety and happiness - involves consumption or use of finite resources.

Perpetual growth is not possible in the long term. Here is a paraphrase of an exercise to illustrate the impact of growth distributed by Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population (ASAP), a group that advocates a limit to population growth in Greater Charlottesville / Albemarle , VA :

“Consider a resource that would last 100 years if citizens consumed it at a constant rate. 

If the rate of consumption increased 5 percent each year, the resource would last only 36 years. 

A resource supply that is adequate for 1,000 years at a constant rate would last 79 years at a 5-percent rate of growth.

A 10,000-year resource supply would last only 125 years at the same rate”.

This example illustrates the power of geometric or compound growth rates. Just as no trees grow to the sky, no growth rate is ultimately Sustainable.

Creating functional settlement patterns at the nation-state, Regional, Subregional, Community, Village, Neighborhood, Cluster scales (all of them, not just the levels with existing governance structures) is a first step towards a Sustainable future.

Ultimately however, citizens must find an alternative to growth. The Introduction to PROPERTY DYNAMICS, the first Volume in ACTION PROGRAMS, documents the need for a "A New Metric for Citizen Well Being.”

Smart Growth is better than dumb growth but compounding growth, as Edward Abby noted, is the mentality of a cancer cell. See Daniel M. Warner, “‘Post-Growthism’:  From Smart Growth to Sustainable Development”, Environmental Practice 8 (3) September 2006: 169-179.  Warner states that in human settlement patterns, growth is a dead end.

As noted in The Shape of the Future, the top 1/10 of one percent of the economic food chain lived quite well in 1492. The evolution of an urban society, the Industrial Revolution and technology gave humans the chance to loosen their belt and improve the quality of life for those farther down the economic food chain but there are limits.

Nation-state or regional population growth and per capita consumption growth cannot be sustained. Those in the top 80 percent of the economic food chain are not near the limit (holding capacity) in most New Urban Regions at this time but to preserve democracy and market economies, citizens must start adjusting expectations and actions to reflect physical reality and not rely on continued growth to generate prosperity  

The supply of land is not the problem, misuse and misallocation of land resources is the problem. Citizens of New Urban Regions will run out of other resources long before they run out of land even at minimum Sustainable densities. Water and energy for Mobility, which the bottom half of the economic food chain can afford, are two good candidates for near term exhaustion. Social Capital is in even shorter supply. Stress and time to assemble a quality life are useful measures of resources in short supply.

The Three-Step Process is designed to help overcome Geographic Illiteracy and Spacial Ignorance and allow citizens to realize that growth is not a viable long-term strategy.

‘H’

Highway-Capacity Expansion

The carrying capacity of a specific segment of a highway (or roadway) may be expanded by design, construction and/or management. The expansion of a highway or increasing a transportation corridor capacity does not, however, insure that Mobility or Access is improved on a corridor, Subregion or Regional basis. For this reason, the phrase “highway-capacity expansion” or “highway improvement” is best avoided as a “goal.” The goal should be to bring the trip generation (travel demand) of the settlement pattern into Balance with the capacity of the Mobility and Access systems.

            Also see Mobility.

Household

A Household is composed of the occupants of a single dwelling Unit.

Housing

Residences or dwelling places that covers, protects or supports the occupants.

Housing Development

A group of similarly designed housing Units.

Housing Project

A publicly funded and administered housing development, usually for low income Households.

Human Settlement Pattern

"Human settlement pattern” encompasses all of the tangible manifestations of human economic, social and physical activity on and immediately above and below the surface of the earth. 

The human settlement pattern - the mix and distribution of human construction and destruction - has a controlling impact on the economic, social and physical well-being of citizens, Enterprises, Institutions and Agencies. Human settlement pattern is sometimes referred to as “the pattern and density of land use.”

‘I’

Industrial Agglomeration

An industrial agglomeration is the human settlement pattern that replaced the city as the dominant urban form. The industrial agglomeration reflected the impact of the Industrial Revolution in the First World after 1850. See Chapter 1 of The Shape of the Future for discussion of the evolution of urban forms. Industrial Agglomeration has been replaced by New Urban Regions in the past 50 years as the fundamental building block of urban civilization.

Institution

Institution is one of the three forms of Organization beyond the scale of the Household. Institution is an Organization created to achieve some purpose other than profit. An Agency is an Institution created to carry out a governance function. The use of the phrase "Enterprise, Institution and Agency” is intended to encompass all Organizations beyond the scale of the Household.

An Institution is a cause or belief driven Organization that is not an Enterprise created to generate a profit nor an Agency established by citizens of a jurisdiction to carry out a governance function for the benefit of the all citizens.  Institutions support the members, founders or management of the Organization. Institutions include Organizations with religious, educational, cultural and political programs, goals and objectives. Institutions include, among others, foundations, labor unions and professional associations, universities, hospitals, museums, political parties, political action committees, conservation advocates, chambers of commerce and other consumption advocates, churches and think tanks.

See Agency, Enterprise, Organization and Household.

Institutional Capacity

Institutional capacity is the ability of an Institution to carry out its intended function. Institutions that lack institutional capacity lose membership and support.

See Agency Capacity and Organizational Capacity.

‘J’  

J/H/S/R/A

This is shorthand for Jobs/Housing/ Services/Recreation/Amenities. An Alpha Community, or Balanced Community, will have a relative Balance of the critical elements that citizens require to meet their everyday needs. A proper Balance will greatly reduce the need for citizens to drive their cars long distances to meet these needs, thus reduce the strain on the transportation system. New Urban Regions are defined as having a Balance of J/H/S/R/A.

See Jobs, Housing, Services, Recreation and Amenities.

Job

Job is defined as a regular activity performed in exchange for payment i.e. occupation, profession or a trade.

Job Development 

The idea of adding new jobs to improve tax base and achieve J/H/S/R/A Balance it is easy to grasp, but the cumulative impact of this tactic is not easy to understand. Creating new jobs in a Community is not a panacea to achieve prosperity, Balance or stability. The creation of the wrong jobs in any location or the creation of the right jobs in the wrong location has a detrimental impact on any attempt to create an Alpha Community and on all the citizens in that component.

            Also see Tax-Base Expansion.

‘L’

Local

The word “local” is used to refer to many different spacial relationships depending on the perspective of the user. They range from local electrons in an atom to local galaxies near the Milky Way. Local is sometimes amplified as “local, local” or “hypher local”. The further obscures recognition of the organic components of human settlement.

The word “local” is best avoided in the discussion of human settlement pattern, and instead, a specific geographical reference should be used to make clear the territory and/or scale of concern.

See The Shape of the Future APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS. Also see LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS at the end of this GLOSSARY.

‘M’

Metropolitan Statistical Area

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is any one of 250 geographical areas defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget. These areas are home to over 210-million citizens, over 80 % of the population of the United States. The identification of the areas is subject to definitions created and amended over the past 50 years. The boundaries frequently change after each Census due in part to the fact that the final boundary designations are subject to a political process. The areas designated often lag from 10 to 30 years behind the economic and social reality which is reflected in the New Urban Region. See The American Almanac 1994-1995; Statistical Abstract of the United State for definitions, qualifications and limitations of use of data related to MSAs.

Also see New Urban Region and Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.

MSAs are frequently confused with Region and with “metropolitan area,” “metro area” and other informal designations which have boundaries and characteristics that very depending on the focus of the user.

Mixed-Use Development 

Development and redevelopment of components of human settlement should have a synergistic mix and Balance of land uses. This mixture and Balance of land uses is essential to establish functional and Sustainable human settlement patterns. What is a desirable mix of uses in a specific case depends upon the scale of the component, the component's context and its location.  Building a project that has several different land uses is not a useful activity if it does not contribute to Balance.

          Also see Smart Growth and Smarter Growth.

Mixed-use is touted by developers when trying to gain approval for their projects.  If the site is near Clear Edge, what often happens to the commercial portion after approval is obtained for the project, is that the developer files a later application to replace the commercial uses by building additional residential Units. This happens because there is not (and in most cases never was) a market for commercial development in the location of the project.

If the retail portion of the mix is ever built, the appropriately scaled retail which was approved for the project is often replaced with Big-Boxes serving a larger area than originally proposed. The end result is that the mix and Balance of uses disappears.

If the project is in the Zentrum, the opposite can occur. Commercial development is substituted for residential land uses. The result is again a monoculture. The objective of all new development should be to evolve viable Balanced components of urban fabric. In this context, a mix of land uses is often a key ingredient.

Mobility 

Mobility is a measure of the ease of Access. 

Citizens frequently state that they want a Community where everyone can to live wherever they want, work wherever they want and seek Services and Recreation where they want at whatever time they want to go. They, of course, add that they want to arrive in a timely manner. This is a laudable theoretical goal for Mobility, but it is not achievable in reality. See “Myths That Blind Us” at baconrebellion.com.

It is clear that a random distribution of land uses is not feasible when one adds a second, even more absurd assumption. This is the myth that "`government' can (or should) build a transport system that will get citizens wherever they want to go whenever they want to get there."  This is a physical impossibility in any contemporary New Urban Regions.

               See Region and Regional Metrics.

It is widely agreed that transportation and land use need to be planned together.  Transport (including highways) must be planned to serve desired land-use patterns and densities. This axiom is, unfortunately, honored in the breach. Within a corridor, the phenomenon of “build a road and they will fill it” is now well documented. The technical term for this phenomenon is “induced traffic.” At the Regional scale extending and expanding highways lead to added congestion.

         See Highway Capacity Expansion.

As documented in Chapter 13 of The Shape of the Future, there are almost no solutions to transport dysfunction that involve only building new transport facilities. Changes in land use (the origins and destinations of travel demand) are the most effective strategies to deal with congestion in New Urban Regions.

Very often “highway-capacity expansion,” “congestion reduction” and “transportation improvement” are code words for building roads to Access remote land that furthers the speculative interests of landowners, not to improve Access or Mobility.

Next to “Affordable and Accessible Housing,” improvement of Mobility and Access is the most complex issue facing most Communities.

See Chapters 13 and 26 of The Shape of the Future.

Mobility and Access are important goals for a Community. They are best achieved by the process outlined in Section VI. Step Two - Sketch Planning and Section VIII. Step Three - Creating Balanced Communities of the HANDBOOK, not by just building roads or other transport facilities.

Multi-Household

Multi-Household is otherwise known as an apartment.

See Single Household Attached, Single Household Detached, Unit and Components of Human Settlement - The Geographic Descriptors.

Municipalism

Acts by municipal Agencies or practitioners that reflect and serve short term interests of municipal Agencies or practitioners but do not serve the interest of the citizens of one or more organic components of human settlement patterns and which actions would not be carried out if functional governance structures existed.

‘N’

Nation-State

Nation-state is used for “nation” in TRILO-G and follows the primary dictionary definition of “nation.”

Natural Laws of Human Settlement Pattern

Human settlement is a complex organic system. As with any organic system, human settlement and those within it are subject to “natural laws” ranging from gravity to thermodynamics. To help understand human settlement patterns, The Shape of the Future identifies five Natural Laws (from among the many that have been identified and even more that need to be identified) to assist citizens in understanding human settlement patterns.

            The Natural Laws of Human Settlement

  include:

• One simple geometric formula (A=Br²)

• One Cost/Service Relationship Curve (The Cost of Service Curve)

• The two “scaling laws” (The 10X Rule and The 10 Pn Rule)

• One proof (87 1/2% rule)

The definition of these relationships or Natural Laws can be found in The Shape of the Future. Chapter 4 Box 5 summarizes these laws and provides references to complete discussions of these laws.

Each of the laws is derived from an analysis of human settlement patterns created over the past 60 years.

neighborhood

The word neighborhood (with a small “n”) is avoided for the reason noted in the definition of Neighborhood.

Neighborhood

A Neighborhood is an organic component of human settlement pattern. The Alpha Neighborhood is the smallest component of human settlement pattern which requires representative democracy - as opposed to participatory democracy which is possible at the Cluster scale.

An Alpha Neighborhood is composed of Alpha Clusters. An Alpha Village is composed of Alpha Neighborhoods. A Beta Neighborhood has the potential to evolve into an Alpha Neighborhood.   

Like “Community”, the word “Neighborhood” is overused and misused in advertising and literature. The word “neighborhood” is frequently used to connote a friendly place. It is frequently (and correctly) referred to as a smaller place than a “Community”. However, media's overuse and abuse of the term has included references to an entire continent as a Neighborhood. For this reason “neighborhood” is avoided however, the word Neighborhood is useful to indicate a specific component of human settlement pattern.

Of all the organic components of human settlement pattern, Neighborhood has had the most consistent supportive use by planning and design professionals as in “Neighborhood school.”

Also see Alpha and Beta as well as Cluster, Village, Components of Human Settlement - The Geographic Descriptors and The Shape of the Future APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS as well as LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS at the end of this GLOSSARY.

New Urban Region (NUR)    

A New Urban Region (NUR) is the smallest organic component of human settlement with an agglomeration of social, economic and physical activity which is Sustainable. A NUR is defined by an area with a Balance of Jobs/Housing/Services/Recreation/ Amenities.

The New Urban Region (NUR) replaced the Industrial Agglomeration as the primary social, economic and physical component of contemporary First World civilization as articulated in Chapters 1 and 3 of The Shape of the Future. The anatomy (make up) of NURs is examined in Chapter 15 of The Shape of the Future.

Also see Boundary, Community, Urban Support Region and Components of Human Settlement - The Geographic Descriptors.   

An Alpha NUR would be composed of Alpha Communities. The NUR is the fundamental building block of contemporary First World society. Drawing the boundaries within NURs is outlined in Section VI. Step Two - Sketch Plan.

New Urban Conceptual Framework

            See Conceptual Framework.

Nonurban

Nonurban is the term used to describe areas where the predominant economic and social activity is related to the extensive uses of land, for instance, forestry and agriculture. Nonurban areas can be identified by the market value attributed to the land. Where the land value is directly related to the income from surface products of the land, the land is nonurban.

Sub-surface or extractive use - mining, quarrying and petroleum production applications - are urban uses of land.

Recreation is sometimes provided at extremely low density. Even some low-density recreation areas, including wilderness areas, do not meet the criteria for being nonurban because the primary economic activity is recreation for urban citizens. All nonurban areas in New Urban Regions are in the Countryside that makes up the areas outside the Clear Edges. There are larger nonurban areas in Urban Support Regions in the United States.

Nonurban is used in place of “rural“ because of confusion caused by the use of rural. The word rural is found in TRILO-G primarily when it appears in quoted material. When the use of rural cannot be avoided, rural is followed by the modifiers sylvan, bucolic, pastoral or rustic.

See Rural, Core Confusing Words and LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS at the end of this GLOSSARY.

‘O’

Open Land

Open Land includes Openspace within the Clear Edges around urban enclaves and the Countryside outside the Clear Edges.  The Countryside components of Open Land may be devoted to extensive, nonurban economic uses such as agriculture, forestry as well as non-intensive natural areas managed for watershed protection, air shed recharge, wildlife habitat, hunting and gathering, extensive recreation and other extensive land uses.

Openspace

Openspace is green and blue. It is land and water inside Clear Edges that is not devoted to urban land uses. Open Space includes parks, stream valleys, natural areas and other public, common or private land that is devoted to for recreation both passive and active.

Organic

The concept of human settlement patterns being organic is central to understanding the New Urban Regions and the New Urban Region Conceptual Framework 

See Chapter 15 as well as Chapters 10, 11 and 16 in The Shape of the Future. Also see organic in The Shape of the Future APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS and LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS at the end of this GLOSSARY.

Organization

Organization is a term that includes Enterprise, Institution and Agency and is integrated to encompass all intentional groups beyond the scale of a Household.

Organizational Capacity

Organizational capacity is the ability of an Organization to carry out its intended function.

See Agency Capacity, Institutional Capacity and Enterprise Capacity.

‘P’

Pattern

Pattern is the distribution, arrangement or “mix” of human activities.

Pattern and Density of Land Use

         See Human Settlement Pattern.

Politics/Political Activity

Politics or political activity is the action of Institutions established to secure the privileges of power and control over the governance structure (Agencies) for members of the Institution.

Percentage Guidelines/Percentage Rules of Thumb

Frequently, in TRILO-G and throughout The Three-Step Process, Percentage Guidelines are employed. These guidelines are not Natural Laws. 

Natural Laws have been derived from settlement patterns that have evolved over the past 60 years. Percentage Guidelines are broad generalities to help citizens grasp “order of magnitude” relationships. The exact numerical value of Percentage Guidelines will vary from Region to Region and from condition to condition. To make the issue even more complex there are several of the Percentage Guidelines that have the same numerical values but are completely different in subject.

The Percentage Guidelines are presented as a way to illustrate overarching ideas and to stimulate discussion, not as hard and fast mathematical certainties.

20%/60%/20% Guideline. With fascinating frequency and across a wide range of economic social and physical issues, it has been observed that if one asks a broad cross section of the population if they agree, disagree or have no opinion with a specific idea or proposal about which they have essentially no prior knowledge or experience, 20% will be favorably inclined, 60% will have no opinion and 20% will be negatively inclined.

Note: Any one individual does not always fall in the “pro,” “ no-opinion” or “con” camp on every issue.

Note: For this guideline to apply, the question must be stated in a neutral way. Pollsters are paid to spin the answers to favor the view of those paying for the poll (e.g. “Do you favor building the X Bypass to relieve congestion and improve air quality?).

In a democracy with a market economy, both political actions and market success depend on securing the strong support of the pro 20%, gaining passive support or acquiescence of the undecided 60% and not riling up the negative 20%.

An important corollary of the guideline is that after extended debate and discussion there are few issues about which there is 100% support. However the 20% “con,” see they are outnumbered and may not be visible in what appears to be a unanimous decision. One way to demonstrate this reality is that about 20% of the population believes the world is flat and that the Apollo Astronaut’s Moon landing was staged in Hollywood.

The 20%/60%/20% Guideline is more than a curious fact about human interaction and group dynamics. The 20%/60%/20% Guideline means that in a democracy to secure consensus on decisions impacting human settlement patterns and the evolution of Balanced Communities in Sustainable New Urban Regions, it is imperative to frame the issue intelligently and allow for well informed dialogue to proceed to the point of diminishing negative feedback.  

The three 95%-5% Guidelines have to do with human settlement pattern relationships that exhibit 95%-5% ratios. They are not interdependent and are not derived from the same basis. Taken together, these three Guidelines provide a fundamentally different view of human settlement patterns than conventional wisdom.

95%-5% Guideline One is the guideline for considering the distribution of nonurban and urban land uses. This guideline is derived from the application of the Natural Laws of Human Settlement Pattern and establishes the approximate ratio of nonurban land area to urban land area necessary to accommodate the current and immediate future projected population of the United States. See the discussion of this guideline in HANDBOOK Section II. STARK CONTRAST, and also in the second topic summary "Understanding 95%-5% Guideline One Relating to the Distribution of urban and nonurban Uses" located in Part 3 of Section II.

95%-5% Guideline Two is the guideline for low-intensity and high-intensity urban land uses within the Clear Edge around the Core of a New Urban Region. This guideline reflects land distribution in Balanced (Alpha) Communities within the Clear Edge that is served by a Region-wide shared-vehicle (transit) system. The ratio of the low-intensity land uses (“green leafy” 10 persons per acre) to the high-intensity (transit-served station areas) land uses is typically 95%-5%-95% low intensity, 5% high intensity. Also see Clear Edge.

95%-5% Guideline Three is the guideline related to nonurban land price escalation in the Countryside. This guideline is based on the work of author William H. Whyte. Whyte observed that if just 5% of the land in an identifiable territory in the Countryside (e.g. a stream valley with widely agreed-to boundaries) is converted to urban land uses (e.g. scattered urban Units), then the Countryside in that territory is converted from Open Land to land speculatively held for urban land uses. This leads to the land becoming dominated by dysfunctionally low-density urban activities unless an urban enclave with its own Clear Edge evolves.

90%-10% Guideline is a rough approximation of the ratio of land outside the Clear Edge (Countryside) to the land inside the Clear Edge (urbanside including Open Space) on the New Urban Region (NUR) Scale. This is comparable to the 95%-5% Guideline One for the Lower 48. The difference is that outside the NURs in the United States, the remainder of the area is in Urban Support Regions with less land within Clear Edges. 

20%/10%/70 % Guideline demonstrates how well a New Urban Region (NUR) (target 90%-10% ) or a large subregion of a NUR in the United States (95%-5% target) is doing in establishing a functional ratio. For instance the Commonwealth of Virginia  embraces all or part of three NURs but is a large state compared to its population and thus as a “95%-5% Guideline One” (actually about 96%-4%.) How is Virginia doing to achieve the 96%-4% Guideline?  It turns out that only about 20% +/- of the land area (instead of 96%) is “protected” from scattered urban land uses and 10% +/- (instead of 4% ) is held for urban land uses leaving 70% +/- open to scattered urban land uses.

These Percentage Guidelines, although they are “rough,” can provide useful insights into settlement pattern dysfunction.

Planned New Community

A Planned New Community (PNC) is a development that is intended to achieve the status of an Alpha (Balanced) Community in a location that would not achieve settlement pattern without implementation of a “plan” - the intentional investment of resources to achieve a specific result.

As documented in The Shape of the Future, Chapter 18, there are few settlement pattern stratagems with as long a tradition as PNCs. PNCs were the strategy for colonization of the classical world and settlement of the Roman Empire. PNCs were the way Western Europe was redeveloped after the 8^th Century and after the Black Death. PNCs were the strategy of choice to settle in North America, South America and Africa. Every major urban agglomeration on the Atlantic Coast; except Boston, started as a PNC.

            See Chapter 18 of The Shape of the Future.

Property Rights

The wish for ubiquitous mobility often comes up in the context of statements that “citizens should have the right to do whatever they want to with their land.” This is, of course, an important objective in a democracy so long as:

• The action does not impinge upon neighbors rights (Common-Law nuisance), and

• Those who benefit from the land use pay the equitable costs of the external consequences of their actions - including the full cost of location variable goods and Services.

The cumulative impact of the actions of individual citizens with respect to land must be evaluated. What is acceptable for one owner to do may not be accommodated when a large number of owners take the same actions. The cumulative impact of many actions (e.g., relying on septic tanks for sewage disposal over a large area with impervious soils) should result in a limitation on individual actions.

Prosperity

Prosperity and “economic well-being” are used interchangeably in TRILO-G. It is common to confuse “progress,” “growth” and “development” with prosperity. Like “City,” “urban,” “rural” and “progress,” “growth” and “development” are defined in terms of one another. Many citizens believe that progress, growth and development is equal to prosperity.

In TRILO-G, “economic expansion” is used instead of “growth,” “progress” and/or “development.” “Economic expansion” is seen by some as the engine of prosperity, by some as requiring a Balance between growth and conservation and by others as an erosion of what citizens once enjoyed.

The question is not whether economic expansion is desirable or undesirable, but the optimum location and pace of economic expansion.

‘R’  

Recreation

An enjoyable leisure activity that provides refreshment of one’s mind or body as well as activities that amuse or stimulate.

region

In general practice, the word “region” (with a small “r”) is used to identify any “large” area that has at least one distinguishing characteristic. The word region is frequently used as an alternative to subregion, and in this context indicates a larger area. 

Places called regions can be significant or insignificant depending on the importance of the identifying characteristic. In the BRIDGES and ACTION PROGRAMS books of TRILO-G, places that have significant identifying characteristics are generally termed Regions. In all cases, the other words that make up the title identifies the identifying characteristic.

Also see New Urban Region, Region, Urban Support Region and Components of Human Settlement – The Geographic Descriptors.

Region

In the BRIDGES and ACTION PROGRAMS books of TRILO-G, use of the term Region, except when identifying either a New Urban Region or an Urban Support Region, is generally avoided. Indiscriminate use of Region as an alternative for Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) is inappropriate and confusing.

Also see New Urban Region, region, Urban Support Region and Components of Human Settlement – The Geographic Descriptors.

Regional Metrics

Regional Metrics is a set of analytical tools used to explore the nature of human settlement pattern. The Five Natural Laws of Human Settlement Pattern: the  A=Br² Rule, the Cost of Services Curve, the 10X Rule, the 10-Person Rule, and 87 1/2 Percent Rule provide the tools to understand human settlement pattern. Also see (Five) Natural Laws of Human Pattern. Taken together, these laws and the guidelines that are derived from them are termed “Regional Metrics.”

By applying the five Natural Laws of Human Settlement Pattern, Regional Metrics assists citizens and governance practitioners in understanding the critical importance of pattern and density of land uses and in taking well-founded actions to shape human settlement pattern.

Also see Natural Laws of Human Settlement Pattern. Chapter 4 of The Shape of the Future which defines the Five Natural Laws of Human Settlement Pattern (Chapter 4 Box 5) and Regional Metrics.

Rural

Like “city,” the word “rural” is burdened with many emotional and outmoded interpretations. This baggage makes it best to avoid use of the word. When carefully defined in economic, social and physical terms, it turns out that rural is a past condition that has not actually existed since the impact of the Industrial Revolution became ubiquitous in First World Nation - states.

See nonurban. Also see APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS in The Shape of the Future and LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS at the end of this GLOSSARY for a detailed explanation of the term “rural.”

Ruralaphilia

Ruralaphilia is the fascination for idyllic agrarian environments that, as seen in the “dreams of the beholders,” in most cases never existed. Ruralaphilia is an attachment to what is believed to have once existed. It is frequently related to places that are now devoted to low- or very low-density urban uses. Ruralaphilia is based on myths of a “small place in more simple times.” These are parameters of places that the majority of the former occupants intentionally left seeking an urban alternative. The former occupants were forced or elected to relocate to places where there was a greater potential for economic prosperity for themselves and their families.

Ruralaphilia is primarily used as an excuse to avoid (or to assume a stance of denial with respect to) issues related to 20^th and 21^st century urban existence.

Those concerned with economic revitalization of small urban places in low-density agricultural Subregions document that the majority of economic activity in these places, as early as 1900, was urban (manufacturing, fabricating and Services), not agricultural activity. These areas are frequently referred to as rural (sylvan, bucolic, pastoral or rustic) but have not been for up to 150 years.

‘S’

Service

“Service” includes both PUBLIC (shared-vehicle systems, public rights of way facilities and maintenance, water, sewer, storm water, flood control, fire, safety, rescue, health, education, archives/library, courts, etc.) and PRIVATE (retail, wholesale, storage and warehousing, medical and dental, agents and brokers, insurance, repair, distribution, transportation, etc.) “services.” Service is one of the five elements required for Balance in components of human settlement patterns.

Single Household Attached (SHA)

An attached dwelling intended for occupancy for one Household.

Single Household Detached (SHD)

A detached dwelling intended for occupancy for one Household.

Smart Growth, Smarter Growth

Everyone is for smarter growth. The question is: What is “smarter growth?” Smarter growth turns out to be “intelligent change that meets the goals of the Community.” Smart growth/smarter growth is one result of the process outlined in the HANDBOOK. Smarter Growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for creating Balanced Communities in Sustainable New Urban Regions.

          Also see Growth.

Sprawl

Sprawl is a commonly used term for dysfunctional pattern and density of land use.  However, many spacial relationships that are called “sprawl” are not dysfunctional and many dysfunctional land uses are not called “sprawl.” An examination of the literature yields hundreds of surveys, studies and many detailed taxonomies of “sprawl.” Taken together they result in confusion. 

Because many users of the word do not understand the functions of human settlement pattern, they apply sprawl to a broad range of conditions. Too often, sprawl is the term used to describe “what someone else is doing that the observer does not like.” Some applications of sprawl are appropriate; some are not. Because of its many interpretations, the word “sprawl” is best avoided in goal setting and in discussing human settlement patterns Avoiding use of the word forces citizens to fully describe the causes and effects of settlement pattern dysfunction.

See APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS in The Shape of the Future and LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS at the end of this GLOSSARY for an extended discussion of sprawl.

subregion

The word subregion (with a small “s”) indicates a geographic territory where the components have at least one locational characteristic in common. Places called subregions are partitions of larger places that also have an identifying characteristic that are called regions. Places called subregions can be significant or insignificant depending on the importance of the identifying characteristic. 

In the BRIDGES and ACTION PROGRAMS books of  TRILO-G, places that have significant identifying characteristics are generally termed Subregions. In this case, the other words that make up the title of the Subregion identifies the territory. 

There is no requirement that subregions be coterminous. As many subregions can be identified as there are conceivable criteria. Obviously, some subregional descriptions would have little or no meaning or purpose.

The use of the word subregion can be very confusing: A single site may fall in many different subregions. Since New Urban Regions (NURs) and Communities may not follow subregional boundaries, parts of NURs, Communities (and all other components of human settlement) may fall in many subregions. For this reason, subregion is not an organic component of human settlement patterns in NURs or Urban Support Regions although the subregion may be an organic component of the natural environment e.g., a watershed.

In the BRIDGES and ACTION PROGRAMS books of  TRILO-G, the use of subregion is generally avoided in favor of a specific description of the geography of concern.

Also see Alpha, Beta, Boundary, Border, Community, New Urban Region, region, Subregion, Region, Urban Support Regions and Components of Human Settlement – The Geographic Descriptors.

Subregion

The word Subregion (capital “S”) indicates a geographic territory where the components have at least one significant characteristic in common.  Places called Subregions are portions of larger places that also have important identifying characteristics that may or may not be a New Urban Region or an Urban Support Region.  

In the BRIDGES and ACTION PROGRAMS books of TRILO-G, Subregion often refers to a specific collection of Alpha and/or Beta components of human settlement patterns.

Examples of significant Subregions include:

• Part of a New Urban Region (NUR) with two or more Cores (including Centroids and Zentrums) that have a significant physical separation such as the Washington - Baltimore NUR. Each Subregion has a specific name e.g., the National Capital Subregion and the Baltimore Subregion.

• The area of a New Urban Region that falls in a specific state “X” and would be called the “X Subregion of the “Y” New Urban Region.

Subregions are often confused with New Urban Regions, Urban Support Regions, and large Alpha Communities. 

Also see Alpha, Beta, Boundary, Border, Community, New Urban Region, region, subregion, Region, Urban Support Regions and Components of Human Settlement – The Geographic Descriptors.

Suburb/Suburban

“Suburban” has been used in the English language from the 15th century. It means “less than urban.” When the words “suburb” and “suburban” are used, it is appropriate to substitute “suburbanside” and “subcountryside” in their place. This puts the application of “suburban” in proper perspective. The word “suburban” has morphed to refer to a number of settlement patterns, activities and even attitudes. Because it is confusing, the term is best avoided.

For an in-depth discussion of “suburb,” “suburban,” “suburbanization,” see The Shape of the Future, APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS and LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS at the end of this GLOSSARY.

Sustainable/Sustainability

The words Sustainable and Sustainability are used as defined by the World Commission on the Environment and Development. Sustainable development "meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is the goal of intelligent change. It is ill defined and should be included in any goal-setting processes with great care. Sometimes a “Sustainability process” is part of HANDBOOK, Section VI. Step Two - Sketch Planning or Section VIII. Step Three - Creating Balanced Communities. See Chapter 23 of The Shape of the Future for a discussion of the topic.

‘T’

Tax-Base Expansion

Frequently in the process of goal-setting, citizens say they want to have the municipality take action to expand the (commercial) “tax base” so that there is a way to pay for the Services they believe are needed or are missing - schools, sidewalks, parks, fire and rescue Services, etc. 

The response needs to be clear and unequivocal: It is not possible to simply bring in new jobs (employment facilities) and assume that this will expand the tax base or that an expanded tax base will automatically result in a municipality being able to support more Services. 

The fact is: adding employment opportunities in a Community, Subregion or Region with little or no unemployment will result in the attraction of new workers who, in turn, create additional and/or totally new demands. These additional and/or new demands will consume the expanded budget for Services or, more likely result in an increase not a deficit. Generally speaking, retail and other Service employment has a detrimental impact on the Community tax base because of lower wages paid to employees.

In addition, large retail facilities (such as Wal*Mart and other “Big Box” retail centers) moving into new locations where the same or similar products are already sold do little or nothing to add new tax revenue. It only replaces the tax revenue that was already being generated by the existing retail entities. It also results in many of the existing stores being put out of business. This creates further detrimental impact. These “Big Box” retailers operate from inexpensive facilities and draw customers from long distances. These impacts taken together can result in a negative impact on the municipality's tax base. The only valid criteria for tax base expansion is to create Balanced Alpha Communities. Shifting from relying on property tax revenue to Service fees is an important strategy. A “buy within the Community” program is a beneficial tactic.           

It cannot be over emphasized that bringing new Jobs into a Subregion with essentially no unemployment does not expand the tax base. It prompts immigration or mega commutes. If new workers move to the Community, the cost may outweigh the benefits. This was demonstrated in the analysis of WorldCom's impact on Loudoun County. From this analysis came a guideline: even with highly-paid, high-tech employment, if over 40% of the workers move to the jurisdiction (i.e., become new residents), then the addition of new residents, even those with high-end Jobs, creates a negative economic impact from Job creation.

Telework

Telework is moving work to people by telecommunications instead of moving people to work (a.k.a., commuting).

Telecommuting

Telecommuting is replacing the trip from a home to a traditional workplace with telecommunications some or all of the time.

Tenementitis

Tenementitis is the irrational fear of housing for lower income citizens and guests - especially the fear of urban areas being overwhelmed with high-rise tenements.

          See Chapter 2. of The Shape of the Future.

Third Way, The

Section II. STARK CONTRAST articulates the conflict between “Business-As-Usual” and Fundamental Change.” It also refers to the strategic stalemate that has occurred between these two forces. The Third Way is an overarching strategy to use informed citizens to create a consensus on achieving Sustainable human settlement patterns by building Balanced Communities.

Three Step Process, The

The Three Step Process to create functional, Balanced Communities is spelled out in Sections V., VI., and VIII. of HANDBOOK. The Three Step Process is the way The Third Way is implemented.

Town Center

The term “town center” is used to help sell development projects that include retail, Service and commercial development. Consumers are said to yearn for a mixed-use town center. This yearning very often comes after these citizens have purchased houses in a dysfunctional location and find they do not have Access to the Services that make contemporary life enjoyable.

Always ask the question; “of what Neighborhood, Village or Community is the project designed to become the “center?”

A new mixed-use “center” can contribute to the creation of an Alpha Community or Alpha Village, but it must become a Zentrum of an organic component of human settlement. There must be planning strategies to evolve Balanced, not projects, no matter what the project is called by the developer.

Also see Component Zentrum.

Transit-Oriented Development 

Some suggest the answer to traffic congestion, “sprawl,” and lack of the opportunity to create a quality life is “a light rail line and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).”  Like “more roads,” a light rail line and TOD are not panaceas. 

Few locations are suited for the addition of a prototypical light rail line or a light rail system without Fundamental Change in the settlement pattern. First one needs an urban area large enough to support a shared-vehicle transport system (a.k.a., transit). Next there needs to be the density of activity (origins and destinations of trips) system in the station areas necessary to support the system or a commitment to create those needs.

Transport systems need to be planned to support desirable patterns and densities of land use - not just to build a new facility.

See Chapter 25 of The Shape of the Future. Also see Highway-Capacity Expansion.

Transportation Capacity Expansion, Transportation Capacity Improvement

            See Highway-Capacity Expansion.

‘U’ 

Unit

The Unit is a dwelling occupied by a Household. Units provide shelter for cooking, eating, sleeping, hygiene and recreation of the Household members. Units may be located in buildings that are Single Household Detached, Single Household Attached (duplex, town house, quadraplex) or Multi-Household.

See Single Household Attached, Single Household Detached, Multi-Household and Components of Human Settlement - The Geographic Descriptors. 

Urban

Urban is used in reference to areas with patterns and densities of land use that are served, or need to be served, by urban Services. Those Services - water, sewer and other utilities, as well as transportation, retail and repair and other public and private Services, are required to support Alpha Clusters, Alpha Neighborhoods, Alpha Villages and Alpha Communities.

Even though “urban” is a Core Confusing Word and has become a “code” for specific social and cultural groups and for a type of radio programming, it is extensively used in TRILO-G because there is not good alternative.

            Also see Core Confusing Words.

Urbanized Areas

According to the Bureau of the Census and the Office of Management and Budget:

“Urbanized Areas comprise one or more places and the adjacent, densely settled surrounding territory that together have a minimum population of 50,000 persons.”

The basis of “densely settled” is not consistent, but the minimum density is in the range of 10 persons per acre. The mapping of urbanized areas by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Transportation confirms that only a small fraction of the land in New Urban Regions meets the criteria for urbanized areas.

Urbaphobia

Urbaphobia, the fear of things urban, is based on a misconception of what urban means. Understanding the deep cultural phobia concerning urban is fundamental to understanding citizen vies of human settlement pattern alternatives.

Most of the resources that document the fact that citizens of the United States hate, fear and do not want to be associated with urban do not address the fundamental reality - human civilization is urban. The market demonstrates that higher intensity urban places have far higher value per unit of activity than lower intensity places. Citizens may decide to call what is urban by some other term, but in the meantime, contemporary human civilization is urban.

Urban Form

The phrase Urban form is used as an alternative to the human settlement pattern. Human settlement patterns also include land devoted to nonurban uses.

Urbanside

The urbanside consists of the Regional Core, adjacent contiguous communities and the urban-area-serving Open Space that is within the Clear Edge. The Clear Edge identifies the Boundary between the Urbanside and the Countryside.

Also see Boundary, Clear Edge, Countryside and Zentrum.

Urban Support Region (USR)

Urban Support Regions are those areas, not within a New Urban Region, that provide substantial economic, social and resource support to two or more New Urban Regions. 

Also see New Urban Region and Components of Human Settlement - The Geographic Descriptors.

‘V"  

Viable/Viability

Human settlement pattern is an organic entity.  The terms “viable” and “viability” are used to describe healthy and functional components of human settlement. The primary indicator of a viable component of human settlement is “citizens in that component (and in the larger components of which it is a part) are happy, safe and prosperous.”

Village

The Village is an organic component of human settlement pattern. The Alpha Village is the smallest-scale organic component with a significant mix (Jobs/Housing/Services/ Recreation/Amenities) of land uses. The Village with a Village Center (Zentrum) is the scale of many “large” Planned Unit Developments (PUD)- population 10,000 to 30,000 - and the primary subcomponent of many Planned New Communities that are of Community scale (50,000 to 300,000 population).

Like “Neighborhood” and “Community,” Village is broadly used as a marketing ploy to illicit the image of a small, quaint, friendly, development project. For that reason the term village (small “v”) is avoided in TRILO-G.

An Alpha Village  is composed of Alpha Neighborhoods. Alpha Communities are composed of Alpha Villages.

Also see Community, Neighborhood, Alpha, Beta and  Components of Human Settlement - The Geographic Descriptors.

Villager(s)

Villagers are persons who live in the same village.

Visioning

Visioning is a first step of many goal-setting and planning processes. Visioning, as currently practiced, is often a simple participatory process that involves citizens in a process to articulate their collective view of the future. If properly employed, the process can contribute to an initial set of First-Tier and Second-Tier Goals. If not properly employed it can result in a meaningless wish-list that later generates confusion, conflict and disaggregation.  

Visual Preference

Visual preference exercises or surveys explore participants' reactions to a sequence of pictures to determine the physical attributes that are attractive to those in attendance.  These exercises are explored in HANDBOOK Section VII.

Visualization

Visualization exercises are attempts to help citizens understand the nature of existing human settlement patterns and the impact of new or fundamentally different configurations of land use. These exercises may be used to illustrate the impact of a new shared-vehicle (a.k.a., transit) station and supporting land uses in the station area. These exercises are explored in HANDBOOK Section VII.  

‘Z’  

Zentra

The plural of Zentrum.

Zentrum

LIST OF CORE CONFUSING WORDS BEST AVOIDED IN DISCUSSIONS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERN.

For further discussion of these words and phrases see The Shape of the Future APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS. 

City

City was once the focus of economic activity but has evolved into a word with many meanings. This word is loaded with obsolete and emotionally charged interpretations. The word is still used in the official name of some forms of municipal governance but does not represent an organic component of human settlement pattern. For this reason it is best to avoid its use whenever possible except as part of the name of a specific municipal entity (such as the City of Alexandria. See City.

Ex-Urban
Ex-Urban is used to refer to an area of very low density urban land uses. This is a misleading way to describe a previously nonurban area that has become urban through scatterization of urban land uses. See Ex-Urban.

Family
Family has evolved to become a confusing way to describe the occupants of a dwelling Unit. In "TRILO-G" the word Household is used rather than family. See Family.

Local
Use of the word local has been extended far beyond a limited district: “the local office”, “the local government”, considering a local government can include from 150 to five million citizens. Depending on the context, local is used to indicate a proximity or service radius from Dooryard to continent. See Local.

Rural
Rural is used as a catchall substitute for sylvan, bucolic, rustic and pastoral, a reference to a past existence that was close to nature and primitive. These descriptors are often used facetiously. Rural once applied to sparsely settled agricultural areas as distinguished from settled, urban areas. See Rural.

Sprawl
Sprawl or sprawling is overused and misused in describing dysfunctional human settlement patterns. See Sprawl.

Suburb/Suburban
Suburb/Suburban have morphed from adjectives to nouns and verbs and have acquired varied confusing meaning and interpretations. “Suburban” has been in use in the English Language since the 15th Century. It means “less than urban” and was used to describe undesirable persons (pimps, prostitutes, petty thieves, and potential traitors) who could not be trusted to be inside the walls of the “city” at night or during times of danger. The common usage has expanded and is now meaningless. See Suburb/Suburban.

Although "Community," "Neighborhood," "Organic," and 'Urban" are discussed in APPENDIX TWO - CORE CONFUSING WORDS, they are used in TRILO-G -- usually capitalized -- because no better substitute has been found. In the case of "family," the word "Household" is used as a replacement in the discussion of human settlement pattern.