Key Terms to Know

Question 1

Adverse possession

Answer 1

Method of acquiring title to a property by possession for a period of time, based on statute

Question 2

Squatters rights

Answer 2

Is a specific form of adverse possession. Squatters typically do not have a right to the title of the property but cannot be removed without due process.

Question 3

Homesteading

Answer 3

Occurs when the land has no legal owner or is owned by the government, the government allows homesteading with an expectation that the person occupying the property will undertake specific actions to gain the title.

Question 4

Adverse abandonment

Answer 4

Is associated with acquiring land abandoned by a railroad.

Question 5

Brownfields

Answer 5

contaminated industrial sites

Question 6

Greenfields

Answer 6

Refer to land that is not currently used for development.

Question 7

Grayfields

Answer 7

Former development sites that are not contaminated

Question 8

Police Power

Answer 8

Is the power of a government to impose what it considers reasonable restrictions on the liberties of its citizens for the maintenance of public order and safety. In the case of a building permit this is ensuring the safety of citizens.

Question 9

Chicane

Answer 9

A short, shallow, S-shaped turn that requires drivers to turn slightly left and then right again to stay on the road, which results in slowing speeds down. Chicanes are most effective when there are volumes of traffic that are similar from both approaches. While diagonal parking can reduce traffic speeds, they are best applied in non-residential areas. Roundabouts are intended to slow traffic while increasing traffic efficiency. In this case, there is no desire to increase efficiency of traffic movement, thus we don’t want to encourage more traffic movements. While a speed hump could be used to slow traffic, they have to be placed continuously along a road to be effective.

Question 10

Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe

Answer 10

In the 1960s, Citizens to Preserve Overton Park filed suit against U.S. Secretary of Transportation John Volpe after he announced plans to build Interstate 40 through Overton Park in Memphis. The suit claimed that Vollpe was violating section 4(f) of the Dept. of Transportation Act of 1966, which required the government to show there were no “feasible and prudent” alternatives to using public lands, such as parks, when building freeways. In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens to Preserve Overton Park. This lead to a considerable increase in grassroots environmental organizing.

Question 11

Cohort Survival method

Answer 11

Also known as the population pyramid, is one of the most detailed population estimation methods.

Question 12

Coffee Klatch

Answer 12

is an informal gathering, preferably at a neighbor’s house. Planning cells are “a deliberative method where randomly-selected, diverse participants collaborate on developing solutions to a given issue and report the resulting recommendations to the relevant decision-makers.”

Question 13

SAM or social accounting matrix

Answer 13

Is a framework for organizing statistical data about the economy. It considers household income, household expenditures, input-output of industries, trade, taxes, government expenditures, investments, and savings. A SAM allows for an understanding of the economic actors and is a tool for understanding how policy changes could result in economic changes.