Active Living News: "LEED Standards for Neighborhood Development"

Healthy Community Design

In The News

Updated October 2007

The NCSL Healthy Community Design Project regularly collects publications of interest to legislators, policymakers and those interested in Health Community Design-related issues. We provide the links below for informational purposes only, and they do not necessarily reflect NCSL positions. Please note that some links may not work since many Web sites only keep active links to publications for a limited time. If you are interested in a publication with a link that does not work, please visit the Web site of its origin.

"LEED Standards for Neighborhood Development"

Many people are increasingly familiar with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards for designing and constructing green buildings. Now, LEED has instituted a new program intended to delineate clear LEED standards for neighborhood development, incorporating the principles of green building and smart growth. The purpose of LEED is to provide an overarching standard and branding mechanism so buyers and sellers alike can vouch for the environmentally soundness of the building or neighborhood they occupy.

The LEED standards include consideration of physical activity levels, traffic fatalities, water and energy usage, and a myriad of other factors in determining what constitutes an environmentally sound community. The LEED Neighborhood Development rating system has just been rolled-out and due to large amount of interest in the new standards, 250 development projects, large and small and throughout the nation, registered for the pilot program.

You can find out more on LEED Neighborhood Development's standards, pilot projects, and other information at: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=148

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