[Vision2020] From NIMBYs to DUDEs

[Debbie Gray]

http://www.planetizen.com/node/152

>From NIMBYs To DUDEs: The Wacky World Of Plannerese
Op-Ed
26 July, 2005 - 12:00am
Author: Ric Stephens
Ric Stephens has compiled a list of some of the
wackiest -- yet at times quite realistic -- urban
planning words, in a vocabulary he has dubbed
'Plannerese.' This week's Planetizen Op-Ed includes a
selected glossary of the terms, in addition to 'A
Modern Fairy Tale in Plannerese,' which looks at a
typical planning issue through the humorous lens of
planning jargon.

Photo: Ric Stephens

Community innovation is one of the most dynamic and
challenging responsibilities for today’s planners.
“Sense of place” and “place-making” are evolving
concepts focusing on the need for unique and
meaningful communities. Our language is simultaneously
developing colorful and humorous ways to express sense
of place
or lack of it. The most well-known recent
planning acronym is NIMBY, “not in my backyard.”
Spinoffs from this popular planning term include LULUs
(locally unacceptable land uses), but the ultimate
nimbyism is expressed by BANANA: build absolutely
nothing anywhere near anything.  Building on these
more common planning terms, I have compiled a list of
some of the wackiest – yet at times quite realistic –
planning vocabulary, which I have dubbed Plannerese.

The lack of ‘sense of place’ has been a humorous topic
for planners and the general public. One of the most
well-known comments regarding “placelessness” is
Gertrude Stein’s suburbia remark “There’s no there,
there.”  The repetitive, monotonous design of
buildings and places has introduced new expressions
such as “blurb” (an indistinguishable suburban
neighborhood), as have persons engaged in placemaking
or ‘disengaged’ in planning non-descript places,
including DUDE: developer under delusions of
entitlement.

The following is a twisted journey into the world of
Plannerese – a modern planning fairy tale that may not
be so far from the truth.  A selection of the
plannerese used in the story is included in the
glossary below.

The Three Local Builders
A Modern Fairy Tale in Plannerese

On a previous occasion there were three local builders
who needed environmental studies, subdivision and
design review approval, and permits to build DUs, drop
some iron, and capture their market share. Before they
began, the Planning Director told them “Whatever you
do, do it the best that you can because that’s the way
to get along in the community.”

The first local builder planned his distainable
development in the California Raunch style because it
was the easiest thing to do. The second local builder
planned his indistinguishable suburb, or blurb, in the
Moditerranean style. This was a little bit more
stylish than the California Non-descript Ranchburger.
The third local builder planned his development in the
Neo-contempo Italianalienate style.

One night the Design Review Board, who zealously
guided local builders, spent “quality time” with the
first local builder’s shlubdivision. They said “More
details, more details, local builder or DBTD/DBTN!”
“Designer babble, designer babble,” said the local
builder. “No Disneyfication!” But of course the
designosaurs did recommend denial of the hacked tract
map and blocked the first local builder.

The Planning Commission then reviewed the
Moditerranean, vanilla, cookie-cutter subdivision.
“More planning, more planning, local builder or we’ll
analyze until you paralyze, and your map will never
finalize.” “Cheap theater! Amateur night!” said the
local builder. But the Planning Commission recommended
denial for that subdivision too, and bankrupted the
second local builder.

The City Council then reviewed the Italianalienate
vavavoomburb. “More citizens, more citizens” declared
the Council “or BANANA ballot box planning will block
your Master-Planned Camelot.” “We’ve passed every itty
bity city committee, and this project exceeds their
caring capacity,” said the builder. Well, the Council
muffled and shuffled but they could not slow down that
Moditerranean fauxburb. But the sandalistas and
treehuggers suffered a ‘sense of immunity.’ “DUDE!
DUDE!” they said and challenged the CEQA doczilla as a
way to stop the development. The local builder saw the
CAVEmen stockpiling petitions and filed a SLAPP. He
then obtained a paseo of hired guns—landscrapers,
architorturors, and an escheat of lawyers. When the
City Council Hearing was held, the dog and pony show
induced PowerPoint Poisoning, and the Council only
asked for “MVP—more vines please.”

The next day the local developer met with the Planning
Director. She said, “You see it is just as I told you:
AICP—Any idiot can plan, but the way to get along in
the community is to do things as well as you can.”
Fortunately for that local developer, he learned that
lesson. And he just lived happily ever after
ITNC—in
the next county!

Glossary

    BANANA: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near
Anything
    CAVEmen: Citizens Against Virtually Everything
    CEQA: Consultants Employment Quality Act
[California Environmental Quality Act]
    DBTD/DBTN: Two common vaccines used by planners to
“fix” a project they don’t like. DBTD is technically
Death By a Thousand Days and DBTN is Death By a
Thousand Nicks [also known as the BED Principle—“Bleed
‘em Dry”]
    Disneyfication: Architectural fad on a community
scale.
    Doczilla: Any technical report that should be
caged rather than shelved.
    DUDE: Developer Under Delusions of Entitlement
    Fauxburb: Modern suburb replicating post WWII
suburbs with eclectic architecture.
    PowerPoint Poisoning: Nauseous state of mind and
body induced by viewing “professional” presentations.
    Sense of Immunity: Mistaken belief that land use
regulation does not apply for a particular
neighborhood or site.
    SLAPP: Strategic Lawsuit Against Public
Participation

Additional Terms

    Spinoffs of NIMBY:
    BANYs Builders Against NIMBYs [Not In My Backyard
Activists]
    GOAH Gedoudaheah
    GOOMBA Get out of my business area
    GUMBY Gaze upon my backyard [Opponents of
residential walls and fences]
    KIIMBY Keep it in my backyard
    NIABY Not in anyone’s backyard
    NIMD Not in my district
    NIMEY Not in my election year
    NIMFOS Not in my field of sight
    NIMFYE Not in my front yard either
    NIMTOO Not in my term of office
    NITL Not in this lifetime
    NOPE Not on planet earth
    NORF No observable redeeming features
    NOT None of that
    NOTE Not over there either
    NUMBY Not under my backyard
    PIITBY Put it in their backyard
    QUIMBY Quit urbanizing in my backyard
    WIIFM What’s in it for me?
    YIMBY Yes in my backyard

Repetitive, monotonous design of buildings and places:

    Anyplace syndrome: No ‘sense of place’
    B4 and after: Big, bland, beige box
still. Less
than inspiring architecture even with extensive
landscaping.
    Comprehensive Flan: The relatively bland,
custard-like filling in many Comprehensive Plans.
    Custard development: Bland clustered development.
    Déjàvenue: An impression of having seen or
experienced the same street before.
    Gagplanistan: A place of massively meaningless
planning.
    Generica: The stores and strip malls you can see
in any town in America.
    McPlace: Standardized “sense of place.”
    Nullibiety: State of being nowhere.
    Pablumia: A universal name for urban communities
whose ambiances of uniqueness and regional flavor have
been eradicated in favor of cookie cutter chain retail
stores, restaurants, background music, entertainment
and interchangeable local residents all dressed as
Americans. The word is from the baby food, Pablum,
which has a bland consistency and is completely
tasteless.
    Placebo: A place that has the appearance, but none
of the value of a real place.
    Oatmeal Architecture: Contemporary bland, beige,
stucco architecture.
    Ranchburger: A one-story generic southwestern
tract house.
    Replaceable places: The same drive-ins, prefab
motels, offices, and salesrooms on every road and
corner.
    Second Street: Average, lackluster or normal.
Stemming from the fact that Second Street is the most
common name in the United States.
    Taupeville: A neighborhood that requires buildings
to be all neutral colors, usually beige and taupe.
Generic, non-descript, lacking in personality and
boring. ‘Over the taupe’ implies something more
creative or excessive.
    Terrorforming: Extremely bad urban designing. The
opposite of “terraform:” to change a planet’s surface
and atmosphere so that life as it exists on Earth is
possible.
    Urban fabric softener: Generic zoning that
smoothes out the distinctions between areas.
    Vanilla: An adjective for a bland or boring design
or plan. 

Suburbia:

    Betty Crocker Suburb: A suburb without child care
facilities.
    Blurb: Indistinguishable suburban neighborhoods.
    Peter Pan Suburb: Suburb designed without
consideration for the elderly.
    Sitcom Suburb: Neighborhoods of traditional Cape
Cod or colonial houses with neat front lawns.
    Suburbidity: A thick, hazy condition of sense of
place.

        
and many other ‘burbs’ such as boomburbs,
baddaboomburbs, biz burbs, exurbs, fauxburbs,
mallburbs, penturbs, shruburbs, technoburbs,
zoomburbs, and vavavoomburbs. 

Practitioners:

    Blandscape architect: Minimalist landscaper.
    Bungalow Bill: Tract house architect.
    CAVEman: Citizen against virtually everything.
    Designosaur: Designer with an enormous impact.
    DUDE: Developer under delusions of entitlement.
    Hippodamist: A city planner [from Hippodamus, a
fifth-century Greek architect, who planned the first
city].
    Inferior desecrator: Interior designer.
    Landscraper: Landscape architect.
    Meisterplanner: An artistic or epic planner.

Sense of place:

    Scents of place: The odors, smells, aromas, and
fragrances associated with a place. The most powerful
of the senses is also the most overlooked in planning.
    Sense of entry: The front door is big and far
away.
    Sense of immunity: Mistaken belief that land use
regulation does not apply for a particular
neighborhood or site.

Ric Stephens is a Principal with Alpha Community
Development located in Portland, Oregon. Alpha’s
expertise is in development with a community
perspective. Alpha offers planning, surveying,
interior design, civil engineering, structural
engineering, landscape architecture, development
investment, and development management.  The
Plannerese Dictionary is available from Trafford
Publishing.


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