Decode the Jargon: Unlock the language of growth and transit solutions with our glossary of common terminology.

Navigating the world of economic development and transportation management associations (TMAs) can be challenging without a clear understanding of the acronyms, terms, and concepts used daily by professionals in these fields. 

Economic development is all about the strategies and initiatives that aim to enhance the financial wellbeing and quality of life within our community, focusing primarily on job creation, sustainable development, and urban revitalization. These efforts play a major role in helping the region attract new businesses, develop infrastructure, and create opportunities for growth.

Meanwhile, TMAs are specialized organizations that bring together public and private stakeholders to improve transportation options, reduce traffic congestion, and enhance commuter experiences within heavily trafficked areas. TMAs work on everything from promoting alternative transit options like carpooling and biking to organizing resources for effective traffic management. Together, these fields share a common goal: fostering a vibrant, accessible, and sustainable community.

See the Region at a Glance.

Our Glossary of Terms

To help decipher and improve understanding around the unique language and technical jargon used in our economic development and transportation efforts, we’ve compiled a glossary of key terms that drive change throughout Denver South. 

  • AADT: Annual Average Daily Traffic. The total traffic volume measured over a year, divided by 365 days, used to assess road usage and capacity.
  • ACS: American Community Survey. A continuous survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that gathers data about U.S. residents, including demographic, social, and economic information.
  • A.I./Artificial Intelligence: Machines or software designed to mimic human cognitive functions such as learning, problem-solving, and decision-making, such as speech recognition or question answering.
  • ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act. A civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.
  • ADR: Average Daily Room Rate. The average revenue earned per room available for sale in the hospitality industry.
  • ADWorks!: Arapahoe Douglas County Works!
  • All Staff Meeting: How Denver South staff gets together every week, including:
    • Round 1: How was your weekend
    • Round 2: Most important priority for the week
    • Round 3: Anything for the group to know, larger questions, calendar updates
    • Round 4: A member of the team is or has a speaker to discuss a topic (optional)
  • Alternative Transportation Tax Credit:  A tax incentive encouraging employers to provide or reimburse employees for using alternative transportation options, such as public transit or carpooling. 
  • APA: Centennial Airport’s airport code.
  • APCD: Air Pollution Control Division
  • Arterial Road: A major road designed to carry large volumes of traffic between regions and collector roads to freeways or expressways. They are typically wider and faster than local streets, but carry traffic at lower speeds and volumes than highways. Ex. Arapahoe Road.
  • AV: Autonomous Vehicles. Transportation options capable of driving themselves using technology like sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence, with little or no human intervention.
  • BDC: Broadband and Digital Communications
  • BOD: Board of Directors (specifically used for Denver South’s board of directors).
  • BRE: Business Retention and Expansion program. An economic development agency that understands a region’s strengths and weaknesses from a business perspective, connects the business to organizations that can help them hire and train employees, and identifies trends occurring across industries that may impact the competitiveness of the area.
  • BRT: Bus Rapid Transit. An electric bus and public transport bus service system designed to have much more capacity, reliability, and other quality features than conventional bus systems.
  • Business Engagement: Connecting with the businesses in the Denver South region through educational info and programs.
  • Business Recruitment: The process of finding, screening and bringing businesses to the Denver South region. Handled by Chris Shapard.
  • Business Retention: Providing support and services to the primary employers in the reason.
  • Carbon Tax: A tax imposed on the carbon content of fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging a shift to cleaner energy sources.
  • Carpool: An arrangement between people to make a regular commute or journey in a single vehicle, often with each person taking turns to drive the others.
  • CCIC: Cherry Creek Innovation Campus
  • CDOT: Colorado Department of Transportation
  • CDP: Census-Designated Place. 
  • CDPHE: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
  • CIP: Capital Improvement Program from the City of Centennial
  • COB: Close of Business, usually designated by 5pm.
  • Commute: Travel time/distance between one’s home and place of work on a regular basis.
  • Cost of Living: The level of pricing for a range of everyday items in an area.
  • CV: Connected vehicles (or for the British, Curriculum Vitae, which is their term for resume)
  • DEN/DIA: Denver International Airport. Airport code is DEN, while DIA is colloquial.
  • DRCOG: Denver Regional Council of Governments. Frequent Denver South collaborator.
  • DSTMA: Denver South Transportation Management Association
  • DTC: Denver Tech Center
  • E-mobility: Electric mobility. Refers to the use of electric-powered vehicles (EVs) and transportation systems as alternatives to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. 
  • EcoDev/ED: Economic Development
  • Economic Base Theory: Economic growth in a region is dependent on its ability to export goods, and that a region’s economy is divided into two sectors: the primary and secondary employers, or base and non-base sectors.
  • Economic Development: Programs, policies, or activities that seek to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for a community. This includes:
    • Retention
    • Expansion
    • Attraction
    • Regional Marketing
  • EcoPass: An annual prepaid transit pass purchased by an employer and provides unlimited usage of RTD services
  • EDCC: Economic Development Council of Colorado
  • EDO: Economic Development Organization
  • Entrepreneur: Someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of an organization or enterprise; someone who starts and runs a business.
  • Entrepreneurship: The process of seizing opportunities, taking risks, and organizing resources to build and manage a new business or innovative product. A method of creating value through problem-solving and pursuing growth.
  • EOD: End of the business day, typically within the time zone.
  • EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
  • EPS: Economic & Planning Systems
  • ESG: Environmental Social Governance. This is often called sustainability. In a business context, sustainability is about the company’s business model and how its products, services, and operations contribute to climate change and the environment.
  • ETC: Employee Transportation Coordinator
  • ETRP: Employer Trip Reduction Program
  • EV: Electric vehicles
  • EZ: Enterprise Zone; Colorado’s Enterprise Zone Program. The Colorado legislature created the Enterprise Zone (EZ) Program to encourage development in economically distressed areas of the state.
  • FAR: Floor area ratio. The measurement of a building’s floor area in relation to the size of the lot/parcel that the building is located on.
  • FAST Act: Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act
  • FHWA: Federal Highway Administration
  • First and Last Mile/FLM Problem: Referring to getting people to and from our nine light rail stations, but it can also refer to getting to and from any form of “long haul” transit such as regional/local bus, shuttle, heavy train, etc. Studies show that commuters will not take the light rail if their trip origin and/or destination is further than about a mile away from the transit station.
  • FlexRide: Provides extended bus service in specific Denver metro areas, delivering connections to other RTD Park-n-Rides and stations, medical centers, and business parks.
  • Freeway: An express highway, especially one with controlled access.
  • GHGs: Greenhouse gasses
  • HDV: Heavy Duty Vehicle
  • HOV: High Occupancy Vehicle
  • HR: Human Resources
  • HQ: Headquarters, where the main hub of a company is located.
  • Hybrid Work: A flexible working model where employees work partly in the physical workplace, and partly remotely, at home or from another workspace.
  • I-25: Interstate 25. The north–south corridor through Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Denver. See our corridor study.
  • Incentives: An aspect of a government’s tax policy designed to encourage a particular economic activity by reducing tax payment requirements.
  • Industry Clusters: What drives the Denver South economy, representing a diverse combination of businesses, occupations, and opportunities
    • Aviation and Aerospace: a high-tech sector that involves the design, development, and production of aircraft, spacecraft, and related parts
    • Broadband and Digital Communications: companies that deliver voice, data, and video to users
    • Engineering Services: an industry that applies engineering principles  to design, develop, and provide services for construction and development
    • Financial Services: an industry providing a range of economic activities that manage money, including banking, investing, insurance, and financial planning 
    • Healthcare and Life Sciences: includes providers, insurance, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, public sector, and life sciences
    • IT-Software and Electronics:
    • IT Software: a broad category of software that helps manage, secure, and automate business processes and devices
    • Electronics: the sector that involves the development, roduction, and distribution of electronic devices and equipment
    • More Information
  • Infrastructure: The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.
  • Innovation: The use of new ideas, products or methods where they have not been used before.
  • IT: Information Technology
  • ITS: Intelligent Transportation Systems. e.g. Signal synchronization and signage
  • Jurisdictions: Our region is a segment of six larger governments:
    • City and County of Denver
    • City of Centennial
    • City of Greenwood Village
    • City of Lone Tree
    • Arapahoe County
    • Douglas County
  • Labor Force: All the members of a particular organization or population who are able to work, viewed collectively
  • LDV: Light Duty Vehicle
  • Light Rail: A type of urban transportation that uses electric-powered vehicles on tracks to carry passengers in metropolitan areas. Stations are in Denver South at:
    • Belleview
    • Orchard
    • Arapahoe at Village Center
    • Dry Creek
    • County Line
    • Lincoln
    • Sky Ridge
    • Lone Tree City Center
    • RidgeGate
  • LTS: Level of Traffic Stress
  • MaaS: Mobility as a Service. A transportation model where users access a combination of different transportation services (e.g., buses, bikes, ride-sharing) through a single platform or app.
  • Mass transit: The transportation of large numbers of people by means of buses, subway trains, etc., especially within urban areas
  • MDV: Medium Duty Vehicle
  • MEI Stations: Mobility Evolution Initiative Stations. Learn more.
  • Metro District/MD/Metropolitan district: Special districts in Colorado that provide public services and infrastructure. Funded through property taxes primarily.
  • Metro Village: A series of connected, vibrant, pedestrian-friendly districts, unified by classical Colorado elements and open gathering places.
  • Micromobility/micro-transit: Small low-speed vehicles intended for personal use, including bikeshare systems and electric scooters.
  • Mobility: The ease and ability of people to move around, and the variety of transportation options available to them.
  • Mobility Hubs: Generally defined as locations where people can access multiple types of transportation modes in a central location (e.g. Bike share, public transit, micro mobility devices)
  • MOD: Mobility on Demand is the ability for riders to hail/request transportation to complete an end-to-end journey.
  • MOU: A Memorandum of Understanding is a non-binding agreement between two or more parties outlining the terms and conditions of a partnership, collaboration, or agreement, typically used to express mutual intent and establish a framework for future negotiations or actions.
  • MOVES: Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator
  • MPO: Metropolitan Planning Organization
  • MSA: Metropolitan Statistical Area. A geographic area that includes a central urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000 people, plus nearby counties that have a high level of economic and social integration with the core hub.
  • Multimodal Mobility: The practice of combining multiple transportation modes for a single trip.
  • NAICS: North American Industry Classification Systems
  • NHS: National Highway System
  • OIM: Office of Innovative Mobility, from CDOT
  • Park-n-Ride: Parking lots with public transport connections that allow commuters and other people heading to city centers to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (rapid transit, light rail, or commuter rail) and/or carpool for the remainder of the journey
  • Primary Employer: A business or industry that produces goods or services for statewide, national, or international markets. Base sector.
  • Remote Work: An arrangement where an employee can work outside of a traditional centralized office location, such as in their home or a shared working environment. Some employees might not even be in the same state as their company’s headquarters.
  • Ridership: The number of passengers using a particular form of public transportation.
  • Rightsizing Transit/Right-Sizing Transit: A process that helps transportation agencies identify ways to repurpose, reuse, or resize existing assets to better meet current and future needs.
  • RTD: Regional Transportation District. Owner of Bus and Light Rail services. Frequent Collaborator with Denver South.
  • RTP: Regional Transportation Plan.
  • Secondary Employer: The non-base sector. Businesses which produce goods and services that meet the needs of the local consumer market. This includes local restaurants and retail establishments.
  • SEO: Search Engine Optimization (marketing term). The practice of optimizing websites and content to improve their visibility and ranking in search engine results.
  • SIP: State Implementation Plan
  • Smart City: A community (not just cities) that employs new technologies but also new processes and partnerships to find better solutions to complicated, community scale challenges. Learn More.
  • SME: Subject Matter Expert
  • SOV: Single Occupancy Vehicle
  • SOW: Statement of Work
  • SPIMD: Southeast Public Improvement Metropolitan District.
  • Spin: A private micromobility provider
  • STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, typically used in academics.
  • Suburban Micromobility: Transportation solutions and modes of travel that are designed to address the specific needs of suburban areas. A subset of micromobility.
  • Sustainability: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, often through responsible resource management, minimizing waste, and fostering economic, social, and environmental balance.
  • TA: Transportation Alternatives
  • TABOR: Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights
  • TAM: Transit Asset Management
  • Tax Climate: The structure of a state’s tax system, or the environmental taxes designed to impact the environment.
  • TAZ: Transportation Analysis Zone. A geographic area used in transportation planning and modeling to analyze travel patterns and predict transportation demand.
  • TDM: Transportation Demand Management. A collection of strategies and programs that encourage people to use transportation more efficiently and sustainably.
  • TEP: Transportation Electrification Plans
  • TIP: Transportation Improvement Program.
  • TMA: Transportation Management Association, of which there are 8 in Colorado. An organized group, sometimes formed by a city or state department of transportation, or as part of a chamber of commerce, economic development group, or separate non-profit.
  • TMO: Transportation Management Organizations. Created solely as the organization responsible for the implementation of transportation demand management.
  • TNC: Transportation Network Companies (like Uber and Lyft).
  • TOD: Transit-Oriented Development
  • TPR: Transportation Planning Region
  • T-REX Project: Transportation Expansion Project. Expanded I-25 from Sept. 2001- Nov. 2006, ahead of its initial completion date by two years. Learn More.
  • USDOT: U.S. Department of Transportation
  • Values: Denver South’s values
    • Quality
    • Resilience
    • Mobility and Accessibility
    • Collaboration
    • Data-Driven Determinations
  • VMT: Vehicle Miles Traveled. The total number of miles driven by all vehicles within a specific area over a given time period, typically used as a metric to assess traffic concerns, infrastructure, and environmental impact.
  • VMT-R: Vehicle Miles Traveled Reductions. Strategies or measures for reducing the total miles driven, such as promoting public transportation, encouraging alternative transportation methods, and urban planning to reduce commuter travel distances.
  • VPD: Vehicles Per Day
  • Wage: A regular, fixed payment, made by an employer to an employee, often to a manual worker. Typically paid on a daily or weekly basis. 
  • ZEV/ZEVs: Zero Emission Vehicles
  • Zip codes: In the Denver South region, we have: 80111, 80112, 80124, 80126, 80129, 80130, 80134, 80237