Glossary

• ADU, see "accessory dwelling unit"
• accessory dwelling unit: A second housing unit on property originally meant for single-family homes. It might be a separate small house, an apartment over a garage, etc..
• affordable housing: When "affordable" is spelled with a lower-case "a", this means low-cost housing that can be afforded by the poor. When "Affordable" is spell with an upper-case "A", this means housing that meets a specific government requirement to service the poor. For example, the rent is restricted to no more than 30 percent of a household’s monthly income, as defined by the HUD.
• attached: sharing a wall, covered porch, or covered passageway.
• building code: The local laws and regulations that cover what kinds of buildings can be built on land and (often) the uses of those buildings. The reasons for the laws are safety, public health, navigation/transportation, and looks. Given they are generated by politics, other reasons for them are money, power, and whim.
• carriage house: a housing unit over a garage. See "granny flat".
• community amenity contributions or CAC: a type of charge that can capture land value during rezoning.
• cottage court: small houses surrounding a garden. Also called a "bungalow court".
• curb cut: a ramp that leads from the sidewalk to the street. Curb cuts are often at corners, so that someone in a wheelchair can cross the road.
• CBD, see Central Business District
• Central Business District: The commercial center near the center of the city. It usually contains the tallest buildings in the city.
• duplex: a building with 2 housing units.
• filtering: The concept that houses age and become less valuable, so that rich households buy new homes and poorer households buy older homes. The houses "filter" from rich to poor.
• fourplex: a building with 4 housing units. (Like a duplex, except split 4 ways.)
• grade: slope of the land
• granny flat: a housing unit over a garage. See "carriage house".
• homeless census, see "Point-in-Time Count"
• HUD: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• impervious cover: land which cannot absorb rainwater, because something waterproof is on top of it. E.g., streets, houses, etc. For example, a macadam driveway is impervious cover, but a gravel driveway is not, because rainwater can pass through it and be absorbed by the earth underneath it. Impervious cover usually results in less greenery, more gutters/sewers, and possibly more flash floods.
• lot: a piece of land. Specifically, the smallest division of land that is tracked by the government.
• market-rate housing: housing rented or sold at market price. Not subsized nor reduced price by government intervention.
• middle housing: Any building between a single-family house and a large apartment building. The term can include a house with an ADU, duplexes/triplexes/fourplexes/..., row homes, cottage courts, and other variations. It is a way to increase density in an area where lots were meant for single-family homes. It is most commonly used in the phrase "missing middle housing".
• mixed-income housing: housing that is a mix of market-rate housing and "affordable housing" (subsized or reduced price by government intervention).
• mixed-use: a building or zone with both residential and commercial (although usually not industrial) uses. It might mean a building with a store on the 1st floor and apartments above. It might also mean a residential neighborhood with a corner coffeeshop or convenience store.
• multi-modal transportation: a cumbersome phrase for something in addition to (or besides) cars: walking, biking, scooters, etc..
• multiplex: NOT a movie theater, but housing for more than one family. Duplex, triplex, four-plex, etc..
• NUMTOT: An acronym meaning "New Urbanist Memes for Transit-Oriented Teens". It is the name of a Facebook group.
• nonconforming use: when property is being used for something other than what it is zoned for. E.g., someone running a business out of their home, which is in a residential zone. See "variance" and "waiver".
• open space zoning: a pattern of very low-density zoning. It has large lots and areas of undeveloped land devoted to "conservation". See this document
• PIT Count, see "Point-in-Time Count"
• Point-in-Time Count: an annual census of the homeless done by HUD each January
• public realm: the shared part of cities, such as roads, sidewalks, parks, plazas, waterfronts, etc..
• right-of-way: Land dedicated or reserved for streets, utilities, or other public facilities. [Direct quote of CodeNext Draft 3]
• rowhouse: a townhouse with a common facade.
• setback: the area inside a lot and adjacent to its border that must not have a building nor be covered (e.g., by the roof's eaves). See "setback depth".
• short-term rental: a hotel or AirBnB
• stormwater: water from rain. Usually in reference to sewers and other infrastructure for controlling and directing it.
• triplex: a building with 3 housing units. (Like a duplex, except split 3 ways.)
• townhouse: a multi-story housing unit that shares walls with other units.
• urbanist: an advocate or expert in city planning. Can imply a "new urbanist", which is advocate of "new urbanism".
• variance: a sanctioned exception to the housing code, granted by board or commission. Someone with nonconforming use can apply for a variance or waiver to make it legal.
• waiver: a sanctioned exception to the housing code, granted by the director. Someone with nonconforming use can apply for a variance or waiver to make it legal.
• watershed: for a given stream, (or river, or any body of water), its watershed is all the land where rainwater will eventually flow into the stream (or river or body of water). Expert usage: "If Waller Creek's watershed has a lot of impervious cover, we should expect flash floods."
• zone: an area of land covered by particular laws. Usually, these restrict the what can be done on the land and how large buildings can be. Common zones are residential, commercial, and industrial. Others include governmental, parks, and conservation.