LULU

(LOO.loo)

n.

A real estate development or other construction project to which the local residents are opposed. Acronym based on the phrase "locally unwanted land use."

Example Citation:

At the top of the list presented by the Southern Strategy committee — made up of city, county, School Board and planning staff — is speeding up the widening of Capital Circle, the traffic artery surrounding most of the city. Other recommendations included discouraging unattractive public projects — or LULUs, locally unwanted land uses — that are disproportionately located in the southern part of the county.

— John Fleming, "Commissioners discuss southern strategy," The Tallahassee Democrat, January 30, 2002

Earliest Citation:

Against these threats we can pose our own evolving vocabulary of barefoot epidemiology (community-based health monitoring), community and workplace right-to-know, toxic torts (the wrongful acts of polluters), compensable injuries (such as sexual harrassment), source reduction (of pollution), "LULUs" (locally unwanted land uses), "nimby" (not in my backyard).

— Lin Nelson, "Feminists turn to workplace, environmental health," Listen Real Loud, April 30, 1986

First Use:

— Frank J. Popper, "Siting LULUs," Planning, April 1981

Notes:

To Don Munton for telling about the Popper article, which is where the term LULU first appeared.

Related Words:

BANANA

CAVEs

GOOMBY

IMBY

NIMBY

NOPE

NOTE

NUMBY

YIMBY

Categories:

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Activism

Geography