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across the grid, and municipal water and sewerage systems that collect water
from a centralized input source such a river, deliver it to consumers via vast pipe
systems, and then return it to a single centralized WWTP.
Circularity The degree to which an economy, or flows of goods, services, or
information, cycle and feed back to the original source; for example, if half of
a community’s food is produced locally, the circularity of that food economy
is 0.5.
City An urbanized area of human settlement, defined by the United Nations as a
locality with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Definitions of cities vary substantially worldwide, with some countries defining a city as a locality with at least
200 residents.
Civil Society The societal space in which collective action around shared values,
interests, and purposes occurs. Civil society includes non-profit entities such as
charities, community groups, professional and faith-based organizations, social
movements, advocacy groups, trade societies, and other non-governmental and
non-commercial human associations.
Clean Water Act (U.S.) The U.S. federal statute that governs discharges of pollutants and removal of dredged material from USA waters. Its precursor was the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, passed in 1948, but in 1972 the act was
significantly restructured and renamed the Clean Water Act. It can be found at
33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
Clean Water Rule of 2015 (U.S.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
interpretation of the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act to include all waters that
have a “significant nexus” with navigable waters, including those that are hydrologically connected but have no visual surface connection.
Climate Change (Anthropogenic) Long-term climate change driven by changes
in the concentration of greenhouse gases within the Earth’s atmosphere made by
human actions. The Earth’s climate has changed dramatically over its history.
Human activities are the main driver of current climate change.
Climate Refugee Migration caused by climate impacts because of displacement
caused by disasters and climate change (see https://www.unhcr.org/climatechange-and-disasters.html).
Climate Variability Variations in climate due to natural drivers as opposed to
anthropogenic drivers.
Climate-Weather Research and Forecasting (CWRF) Model A regional climate
model developed at the University of Maryland, which simulates the interactions
between land, atmosphere, ocean; convection and microphysics; and clouds,
aerosols, and radiation, yielding improved forecast skills on climate timescales.
Closed Supply Loop A closed-loop supply chain that maximizes efficiency by
converting waste streams from one sector or process into resources for another
sector or process.
Collaborative Geodesign The involvement of stakeholders in landscape design
using a tool which interactively lets them test and receive feedback for different design decisions. The benefit of this approach is that the stakeholders can
immediately see the impact of their design decisions on biophysical and social
Glossary
across the grid, and municipal water and sewerage systems that collect water
from a centralized input source such a river, deliver it to consumers via vast pipe
systems, and then return it to a single centralized WWTP.
Circularity The degree to which an economy, or flows of goods, services, or
information, cycle and feed back to the original source; for example, if half of
a community’s food is produced locally, the circularity of that food economy
is 0.5.
City An urbanized area of human settlement, defined by the United Nations as a
locality with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Definitions of cities vary substantially worldwide, with some countries defining a city as a locality with at least
200 residents.
Civil Society The societal space in which collective action around shared values,
interests, and purposes occurs. Civil society includes non-profit entities such as
charities, community groups, professional and faith-based organizations, social
movements, advocacy groups, trade societies, and other non-governmental and
non-commercial human associations.
Clean Water Act (U.S.) The U.S. federal statute that governs discharges of pollutants and removal of dredged material from USA waters. Its precursor was the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, passed in 1948, but in 1972 the act was
significantly restructured and renamed the Clean Water Act. It can be found at
33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
Clean Water Rule of 2015 (U.S.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
interpretation of the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act to include all waters that
have a “significant nexus” with navigable waters, including those that are hydrologically connected but have no visual surface connection.
Climate Change (Anthropogenic) Long-term climate change driven by changes
in the concentration of greenhouse gases within the Earth’s atmosphere made by
human actions. The Earth’s climate has changed dramatically over its history.
Human activities are the main driver of current climate change.
Climate Refugee Migration caused by climate impacts because of displacement
caused by disasters and climate change (see https://www.unhcr.org/climatechange-and-disasters.html).
Climate Variability Variations in climate due to natural drivers as opposed to
anthropogenic drivers.
Climate-Weather Research and Forecasting (CWRF) Model A regional climate
model developed at the University of Maryland, which simulates the interactions
between land, atmosphere, ocean; convection and microphysics; and clouds,
aerosols, and radiation, yielding improved forecast skills on climate timescales.
Closed Supply Loop A closed-loop supply chain that maximizes efficiency by
converting waste streams from one sector or process into resources for another
sector or process.
Collaborative Geodesign The involvement of stakeholders in landscape design
using a tool which interactively lets them test and receive feedback for different design decisions. The benefit of this approach is that the stakeholders can
immediately see the impact of their design decisions on biophysical and social
Glossary