New words – 6 March 2023

aerial shot of volunteers in blue shirts packing bottled water and other emergency supplies into boxes
urbazon / E+ / Getty

resilience hub noun [C]
/rɪˈzɪl.jəns ˌhʌb/
a place in a city where someone can go during a heatwave to access air conditioning, get water, use the internet etc.

Cities around the world are adopting various measures to deal with the threat of heatwaves, which are increasing in frequency and severity, and put old and infirm people at particular risk. Resilience hubs are designated buildings—or, in some cases, pods made from shipping containers—within a community that provide air-conditioned places of refuge with drinking water, internet access and phone-charging facilities.
[economist.com, 14 November 2022]

doughnut city noun [C]
UK /ˈdəʊ.nʌt ˌsɪt.i/ US /ˈdoʊ.nʌt ˌsɪt̬.i/
a city where most people live in the outskirts and the city centre does not have many amenities such as shops, restaurants etc

When the proportion of teleworking becomes sufficiently large, our gentrified city turns into a doughnut city, as skilled workers abandon their central homes in search of more affordable suburban options. The unskilled workers, still doing all work onsite, relocate to the central neighbourhoods.
[cepr.org, 6 December 2022]

zoom town noun [C]
/ˈzuːm ˌtaʊn/
a town in which a large number of residents work remotely

The term “zoom town” is a play on the old term boomtown, which referred to towns and cities that experienced large growth due to oil discovery. The “zoom” in zoom town refers to the virtual conferencing software, Zoom, which many remote workers use. So instead of oil, zoom towns are communities growing due to increased remote work opportunities.
[rocketmortgage.com, 23 November 2022]

About new words

3 thoughts on “New words – 6 March 2023

  1. Roberto

    I think that “Resilience” is a noun which indicates a quality belonging to a person and should not be used referring to a place. I would suggest to use a word like “Comfort” or similar.

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