Plannerese Dictionary

About the Book

The Plannerese Dictionary contains an eclectic collection of unique and humorous words, phrases, and miscellany related to the built and natural environment. The entries range from "a la mode" a reference to an extra touch to a plan, to "zygocephalum" a measure of land based on the area of land a yoke of oxen could plow in one day. Inserts include words and phrases related to airport planning, architectural styles, cell towers, houses, laws, lots, patron saints, public hearings and meetings, real estate ad phrases, rules, signage, sports analogies, street people, subdivision scale, suburbia, terms of venery, and zoning ordinance anachronisms.

The dictionary began over twenty years ago as the author collected the colorful vocabulary of urban and regional planning practice, public meetings and hearings, and environmental design education. Many of these words and phrases are common to designers; others are the word-smithing of numerous contributors and the author.

The dictionary has also been an integral part of the "Humor in Planning" presentations made to numerous professional organizations for over a decade. The Plannerese Dictionary contains such diverse terms as coma toes, defenestration, designosaur, dirt-eating druid, football field analogy, greige, hearings from hell, Laser Pointer Parkinson's, litter on a stick, monopalm, Planungvergnügen, PowerPoint poisoning, riot renaissance architecture, Shirley's Temple, Tarzan Ethics, ZOA, and more than 1,000 others.

About the Author

Richard Bryan Stephens is a consulting planner with over 25 years experience in master-planned community, resort & tourism, information technology & communications, and international planning. Ric is an adjunct university professor; editor/webmaster for several professional organizations; airport and city planning commissioner; and advisor to several international organizations. Ric and his wife, June, enjoy horseback wilderness trekking, sailing, and flying.