Sprawl language

[Thaine]

Came upon the following terms and definitions while surfing:

Boomburb– a rapidly growing, urban-sized place in the suburbs
Zoomburb– a place growing even faster than a boomburb
Water feature– artificially constructed display of water
TOAD– temporary, obsolete, abandoned, or derelict site
Starter castle– a house of exaggerated size and aspirations
Snout house– house with a protruding garage that takes up most of the street frontage
Sitcom suburb– neighborhoods of traditional Cape Cod or Colonial house with neat front lawns
Rural slammer– construction of prisons in remote areas
Putting parsley around the pig– landscaping a bad spot or bad project
Privatopia– a community where residents are legally bound to obey the convenants, conditions, and restrictions of a homeowner association
Power center– a grouping of several unconnected big box outlets (large discount stores)
LULU– locally unwanted land use
Logo building– a building designed as a trademark that can be spotted from a distance
Litter on a stick– billboards
Ground cover– inexpensive, easily bulldozed building such as selfstorage units, constructed to generate income while a developer holds land, waiting to build a more profitable project
Edge nodes– growth areas of commercial real estate usually outside older downtowns and near interstate highways
Ball pork– a stadium built with public funds for the use of a privately-owned ball team

Apparently taken from Delores Hayden, author of A Field Guide to Sprawl.  Particularly like the "snout house".

[schugg]

you forgot NIMBY

[bahua]

you forgot NIMBY

Or, Delores Hayden didn't use that term.

[schugg]

Or, Delores Hayden didn't use that term.

smart ass!   

[Thaine]

I'm sure there are others, like NIMBY.  Feel free to add your favorites.

[schugg]

I'm sure there are others, like NIMBY.  Feel free to add your favorites.

thank you. thats what bahua should have done instead of being the true flamer that he is.

[Thaine]

"Doesn't play well with others", maybe that's what some will say about Bahua then.

[bahua]

Clarifying a point = flaming? What!?

[warwickland]

NIMBY's first cousin - BANANA

Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.

[Gladstoner]

Circle of Hell - Those subdivisions with the curving streets and cul de sacs, where poor souls trying to cut through end up driving around in circles until both their sanity and sense of direction are lost.

[Gladstoner]

NIMBY's big brother - NIMLOS

Not In My Line Of Sight.

[DaveKCMO]

i really love "litter on a stick"... as i was driving through rural kansas this weekend (US 69, 169 and 400), it's amazing how few billboards there are in kansas. quite a welcome change of pace compared to the onslaught of XXX, ozarkland, and mizzou crap that lines I-70.

[warwickland]

yeah, I-70 and now, 50, blow.

[KCMax]

Face Houses - what my fiancee calls all the cookie cutter houses in most burbs that have the two windows for eyes and the garage as a mouth. They all look alike!

[Gladstoner]

Stage props - Houses that have elaborate detailing in the front but have some crappy minimalist exterior on the other three sides (eg. bats & boards). I think nearly all houses are like this anymore.

[warwickland]

mullet house - brick facade, featureless vinyl siding on the side and back.

sounds like 'stage props' next of kin.

[Tosspot]

As much as I like the term "snout house," the authors of "A Field Guide to Sprawl" strangely omitted my own linguistic invention "strip mall gulag."

[Moniker]

I like Urbanista and Snoburbanite. Two birds of the same feather, albeit separated by choice of residence.

[mean]

Snoburbanite is great, but I don't like Urbanista...it's almost too good, like something someone might wear as a badge of pride. I would modify slightly to Urbanassta.

[StL_Dan]

"Starter castle" is my current fave.