My Urban planning glossary

I did this for students entering this field to get used to the vocabulary that might be used in this work.

activity center

noun

An area that attracts people for shopping, work, school, recreation and socializing.(Dense area).

Example: I bought this outfit inside the activity center

fr: centre d'activités

air rights

noun

Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface.

Example: A property has air rights if the property is vacant.

fr: droits aériens

brownfields

noun

a former industrial or commercial site where future use is affected by real or perceived environmental contamination.

Example: The following fact sheets provide a simple and visual introduction to brownfields

fr: friches industrielles

clean air zone

noun

The Clean Air Zone identifies areas where significant reductions in ozone, and pollutants, have been achieved through industry initiatives to control or prevent pollution.

Example: You can check if you’ll need to pay a charge for a vehicle before you drive in a clean air zone.

fr: zone d'air pur

emergent cities

noun

an urban area that evolved according to the spontaneous contributions of individual land owners, neighborhoods and citizens.

Example: these innovations in agriculture certainly emerge from cities

fr: villes émergentes

ghost spaces

noun

Ghost spaces are underutilized public spaces in an urban area. The primary cause of ghost spaces is a poor design that lacks interesting features or a pleasant atmosphere that draws people. Secondary factors in some cities are safety, perceived safety, pollution and inadequate transportation

Example: The primary cause of ghost spaces is a poor design

fr: espaces fantômes

high speed rail

noun

is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. 250 km/h

Example: Today's fastest high-speed rail run at 220 mph.

fr: voie Ferrée à haute vitesse

human scale

noun

means design that is optimized for human use. This can apply to any perspective from physical to psychological. It is quintessentially Human Centered Design of urban spaces. Human Scale is the design of physical elements to illicit the best response from human users.

Example: If you lose the human scale, the city becomes an ugly place

fr: échelle humaine

Land use

noun

involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods.

Example: Changes in land use transform the landscape and can contribute to the loss of natural land.

fr: L'utilisation des terres

highway

noun

a main road, especially one connecting major towns or cities

Example: I used the highway to go to Montreal

fr: autoroute

place making

noun

Placemaking is an approach to the development of urban spaces that promotes the reappropriation of public space by the citizen.

Example: these are three design theories that can be applied to urban placemaking successfully.

fr: fabrication de lieux

public space

noun

represents in human societies, in particular urban ones, all the spaces of passage and gathering which are for the use of all. They belong either to the State, or to a legal and moral entity or, exceptionally, to the private domain.

Example: One of the greatest joys of going to a public space is so that people can express themselves fully.

fr: espace public

resilient cities

noun

the city that has the capacity to adapt to events in order to limit the effects of natural disasters

Example: Resilient cities Faced with the increasingly severe impacts of climate change

fr: villes résilientes

sponge city

noun

A sponge city or permeable city is a concept in urban planning and urban hydrology that refers to the capacity of a city to absorb and store water in the soil and wetlands.

Example: The Chinese government has adopted the sponge city model with the goal of 80 percent of urban areas being sponge cities

fr: ville éponge

park

noun

is a delimited area of a territory, maintained in its natural or semi-natural and landscaped state.

Example: I went to the park to play with my little brother

fr: parc

transition design

noun

Transitional design is the practice of designing things that take a long time to do, requiring a number of steps. It is associated with complex issues such as sustainability and urban design.

Example: Not only was the trip crucial to advance Transition Design activities and leverage the interest that continues to grow in northern Europe

fr: conception de transition

Urban

noun

everything related to the city

Example: The urban environment is the city. The green spaces are rare, the houses attached to each other, the intense traffic and the noise very often infernal.

fr: Urbain

vertical gardens

noun

method of growing plants on a vertically suspended panel with the use of hydroponics.

Example: Vertical gardens are a great way to maximize your growing space.

fr: jardins verticaux

neighborhood

noun

is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area.

Example: safe neighbourhood where people left their doors open during the day

fr: quartier résidentiel

zoning

noun

is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones.

Example: The primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible.

fr: zonage

This glossary was made with the Virtual Writing Tutor glossary maker and grammar checker.