LEED for Neighborhood Development: How Green is Your Neighborhood?

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is currently developing a national set of standards for neighborhood location and design that will result in a new and additional Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system titled LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND).

Unlike other LEED rating systems that focus primarily on green building practices, with relatively few credits regarding site selection and design, LEED-ND places emphasis on the site selection, design, and construction elements of a neighborhood. LEED-ND potentially applies to any residential development (multi- or single-family), mixed-use development, or master planned community.

The second and final public comment period for LEED-ND closes Sunday, June 14th. Comments must be submitted online and should only address changes to the original draft resulting from the first public comment period. A redline of the current draft showing all revisions from the original draft is available here.

As the rating system focuses on site location as a means to reduce environmental impacts, LEED-ND inherently favors redevelopment, infill development, and sites adjacent to existing development over traditional greenfield development. As such, many greenfield residential developments will be unable to qualify, even with many green building concepts incorporated into the project. Such developments will still be able to qualify for the LEED for Homes rating system or other green rating systems such as the GreenPoints Rated system, the California Green Builder program, or the National Green Building Standard, which focus more on green building concepts than project location.

Please contact us with any questions regarding LEED-ND or any other green rating system. ils/Alert_LEED_Condas_Fogt_May2009/alert.htm