Unit 6 / Urban / Modules 49-52

blockbusting

A practice in which realtors persuade white homeowners in a neighborhood to sell their homes by convincing them that the neighborhood is declining due to black families moving in

brownfield

A property whose use or development may be complicated by the potential presence of hazardous substances or pollutants

brownfield remediation

The process of removing or sealing off contaminants so that a site may be used again without any health concerns

built environment

The human-made space in which people live, work, and engage in leisure activities on a daily basis

compact design

Development that grows up (in the form of taller buildings) rather than out (in the form of urban sprawl)

de facto segregation

Racial segregation that is not supported by law but is still apparent

ecological footprint

The total amount of natural resources used and their impact on the natural environment

environmental injustice

Occurs when certain groups, usually poor or recent immigrants, carry a larger share of environmental risks and hazards than wealthy, long-established groups that have the power to influence decisions about the environment

environmental justice

The movement to fix environmental discrimination

environmental racism

Occurs when areas inhabited by low-income people of color are targeted for environmental contamination

exclusionary zoning (EZ)

Zoning that attempts to keep low- to moderate-income people out of a neighborhood

Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA)

U.S. law that grants municipalities oversight over federally funded development projects on farmland

grayfields

Vacant or underutilized former commercial spaces

greenbelt

A zone of grassy, forested, or agricultural land separating urban areas

greenfields

Previously undeveloped real estate

inclusionary zoning (IZ)

Municipal and county planning ordinances that require a given share of new construction to be affordable for people with low to moderate incomes

mixed land use

Zoning that permits multiple land use activities in one space or building (i.e. commercial, residential, agricultural, industrial)

New Urbanism

An approach to city planning that focuses on fostering European-style cities of dense settlements, attractive architecture, and housing of different types and prices within walking distance to shopping, restaurants, jobs, and public transportation

NIMBY

Abbreviation for "not in my backyard"; term for a person who tries to prevent the construction of affordable housing and other types of development in their neighborhood

redlining

The practice of identifying high-risk neighborhoods on a city map and refusing to lend money to people who want to buy property in those neighborhoods

scattered developments

Subdivisions or developments that do not abut existing settlements and that remove agricultural land from production

slow-growth city

A city that changes its zoning laws to decrease the rate at which the city spreads horizontally, with the goal of avoiding the negative effects of sprawl

smart growth

Policies that combat regional sprawl by addressing issues of population density and transportation

squatter settlement

An area of degraded, seemingly temporary, inadequate, and often illegal housing

urban footprint

The spatial extent of an urban area's impacts on the natural environment

urban heat island

A mass of warm air in cities, generated by urban building materials and human activities, that sits over a city

urban renewal

Large-scale redevelopment of the built environment in downtown and older inner-city neighborhoods

white flight

The mass movement of white people from the city to the suburbs

zoning

The classification of land according to restrictions on its use and development

zoning regulations

Laws that dictate how land can be used