LEED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT
LEED is a rating system developed by the United States Green Building Council. The rating system outlines important sustainable design features that neighborhood developers should incorporate, and provides a scoring system to rank success. The rating system is available on the USGBC website, www.usgbc.org/Leed/Rating-systems. LEED for Neighborhood Development has three major parts to it. “Smart Location and Linkage” provides guidance on choosing sites. “Neighborhood Pattern and Design” provides guidance on town layout. “Green Infrastructure and Buildings” provides guidance at a smaller scale. Finally there is also an allowance for “Innovative and Exemplary Performance”.
“Smart Location and Linkages” steers development away from ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands, agricultural land, floodplains, and steep slopes. It steers development toward denser infill areas that can provide jobs closer to housing, resulting in reduced automobile use. Finally the guidelines give credits for restoration and long-term conservation of habitat, wetlands, and bodies of water.
“Neighborhood Pattern and Design” provides credits for most of what is considered good new urban design. Compact design is reinforced with a call for a walkable, tree-lined street network serving diverse neighborhoods. Access to transit, recreation, local schools, and civic spaces echoes transit oriented development.
The “Green Infrastructure and Design” part of the LEED guidelines points the builder toward energy and water efficient buildings and landscaping. It also calls for site design features to use natural landforms to manage rainwater, to minimize solid waste with recycling, and to minimize wastewater. Solar orientation receives a credit along with minimizing site disturbance during construction.
Finally there are credits to be gained from innovative concepts that are not part of the formal credit system.