Climate & Land-Use Dictionary
Plain-language definitions for the terms behind our work.
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Climate Adaptation noun
Adjusting communities, infrastructure, and natural systems to reduce harm from the climate impacts we already face and those still to come, such as heat, flooding, and wildfire.
Greenbelt noun
A network of protected open space, farmland, and natural lands in and around a metropolitan area that is kept from development to preserve nature and shape where growth happens.
Infill Development noun
New development built on vacant or underused land within areas that are already built up, rather than on open space at a region's edge.
Managed Retreat noun
The planned relocation of people, homes, and structures away from areas at high risk from hazards such as flooding or sea-level rise, before those hazards force the move.
Nature-Based Solutions noun
Protecting, restoring, or managing natural systems — like wetlands, forests, and floodplains — to address challenges such as flooding, extreme heat, and wildfire.
Resilience Hotspot noun
An area where protecting or restoring nature offers outsized benefits for a community's climate resilience, helping guide where investment does the most good.
Sprawl noun
Low-density, car-dependent development that spreads outward into open space and farmland at a region's edge, consuming natural lands and lengthening trips.
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) noun
Compact, walkable, mixed-use development concentrated around public-transit stations so that homes, jobs, and services sit within easy reach of transit.
Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) noun
A mapped line that separates land where urban development is allowed from land intended to stay rural or natural, directing growth inward and protecting open space.
Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) noun
The zone where homes meet or intermix with undeveloped wildland vegetation — the area where wildfire risk to people and property is highest.
In the real build, the dictionary is a structured, searchable content type in the CMS — each term is its own entry with a slug, category, and related links, so definitions stay consistent and can be reused across the site.