Get rid of the old

Words and phrases to get rid of in 2014: 

How many times have you heard the word "vibrant" and wanted to pull your hair out?  You'd laugh at  the pretentiousness of the word if it weren't so annoying by now.

It's a new year, and time to make resolutions about vocabulary by brushing up on the meanings of words that either enhance or obfuscate communication.

 Here are my suggestions for words that are so overused they have lost their original meaning, some that have a meaning different from the dictionary version, and some that are just plain annoying.

Vibrant - it's everywhere -  it's fingernails-on-the-blackboard, grit-your-teeth irritating.  It's so overused it's getting to be a joke and needs to go away.

Vision -  doesn't mean much to anyone who wasn't clued in on the visionary vision in the first place.

Walkable - what city planners mean is not what you may think.  City personnel should spell out what these normal sounding words mean in the context they are being used, otherwise no one knows what is intended.  Is that the intent?  Otherwise, assume the word to be code for the "20-minute neighborhood."

Affordable - another of those words that has a meaning other than the commonly understood, dictionary definition.  How does the average person know what "affordable" means if it isn't made plain?

Low-income - and yet another double-meaning word.  The planning world is a mine field of tricky words.  If you don't know the rules, you can't play the game.  "Low-income" is the federal term for anyone making less than 80% of the median area income.

X - shed - any word that is put before "shed" creates a silly hybrid such as: bikeshed, walkshed, foodshed, transitshed, and you-name-it-shed.  Plain English please.

Sense of place and Sense of community - there is a feeling of attachment one has about the place one lives that comes from the relationship with the people and the physical place itself.  This relationship evolves over time.  But planners use these terms as if these are something that can be manufactured, as in: "The complete streets will create a sense of community."  As good as urban design gets, it cannot create a community or a sense of place, and it is hubris to think or say so.

Healthy - why would anyone want to plan for anything to be unhealthy?  This is so obvious it's a waste of a good word.

Food Access - is there anyone in Lake Oswego who does not have physical access to fresh, "healthy" food?   How do these things keep creeping into our bloated government regulations?

Additions:
Tool and Toolbox - as in : "That's just one tool in the toolbox we can use."  "Kit" has same meaning.

The list can go on, but this is a good start.  How about you?  What are your favorite government words to get rid of?

Image is of a Chilhuly glass exhibit and is an example of "vibrant" on a Google image search of the word "vibrant."  Text is from the Tacoma, Washington city website. (The Chilhuly glass art is located in Tacoma.)

Our goal is to guide community growth and development in a manner that protects environmental resources, enhances quality of life, promotes distinctive neighborhoods and a vibrant downtown, and involves citizens in the decisions that affect them.