LEED to Include Green Neighborhoods

It seems as though the scope of green building has widened: instead of just green building LEED certification, there is now a specialized focus on green communities LEED certification. While the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has been making a clear push for green communities with press release headlines like: “LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System Launches as Benchmark for Green Neighborhood Design,” the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) is following up the USGBC’s efforts by announcing there is now a LEED AP credential specifically for green neighborhood development, the LEED AP for Neighborhood Development Credential.

The rating system developed by the USGBC is a program that takes into consideration what is necessary for a community to be green: “smart growth, New Urbanism, location efficiency, transit-oriented development, and a variety of housing options with proximity to job centers. This is the first time USGBC has focused on bringing together environmentally efficient communities through not only green building (both commercial and residential), but has examined development on a grand scale – and is seeking sustainability from community point of view,” said Marie Coleman, communications associate at USGBC.

Climate issues are still at the forefront of international agendas, and while intermittently spread green buildings are leading the way for others to follow, the solution to climate and energy issues lies in part in the bigger picture of green communities, or as Coleman states, on a city scale. “This credential was created to meet the needs of solving our energy, water, and climate issues on a city scale.” According to Coleman, there are a number of reasons why this seemed like the right time to introduce a green communities initiative: “Whether it’s the economy which has presented an array of challenges to families and businesses or recent environmental catastrophes like the earthquake in Haiti which has left some one million people without a home, the time was ripe for USGBC to take green building one step further and address holistically a new set of challenges that needs attention.”

The LEED AP exam for Neighborhood Development covers many areas. First, it addresses sites including areas in community connectivity, development, green management and climate conditions. Second, it addresses water management including water treatments, stormwater and irrigation demand. Third, it addresses neighborhood systems and impacts, including energy performance policies, on-site renewable energy, energy tradeoffs and energy sources. Fourth, it addresses acquisition, installation and management of project materials including building reuse. Fifth, it addresses stakeholder involvement and public outreach including design workshop. And sixth, it addresses land use and urban design.

There is a monumental difference in a green building within a community versus a green community, and the fact that the USGBC feels we are ready for such a big move, is something not to be taken lightly. “Neighborhoods encompass residences, commercial buildings, the places we live, work, shop, play, go to school – they have streets we drive on, sidewalks we walk on, they include municipal infrastructure and connect us to amenities like public transportation. The significance of efficient community development is that neighborhoods and communities affect us all,” said Coleman.

The interest in the credential has been high, and according to Beth Holst, VP of Credentialing for GBCI, already 1,000 candidate applications have been received. The GBCI hopes the credential is used “for affordable housing projects, inner city and suburban neighborhood development which creates a sustainable place to work, live and play,” said Holst.

Currently there are six GBCI credentials: LEED Green Associate, LEED AP Building Design & Construction, LEED AP Homes, LEED AP Interior Design & Construction, LEED AP Operations and Maintenance and most recently, LEED AP Neighborhood Development. Regarding future additions to these credentials, Holst said the GBCI is “always looking for ways to meet the needs of the green building and sustainable industry.” Also, a credential dedicated to green schools is being explored, and the LEED Fellow, a credential for distinguishing an extraordinary class of leading professionals, will be released in November, 2010.

With an initiative in place, creating the proper infrastructure, and the credential to build green communities, creating experts in the field, it is almost certain that the network of green building will grow, hopefully exponentially. “With the popularity of green building in recent years, we hope that in 10 years from now, we’ll be seeing entirely green communities – where not only the buildings are green, but the community was designed with future growth in mind – population, economic, job, education, infrastructure, etc. By smartly planning communities, we are tackling a huge chunk of our collective environmental challenges,” said Coleman.

Source: Connect Press   Author: Lauren Browne

One Response to “LEED to Include Green Neighborhoods”

1. Monte Stassen says:

   August 27, 2010 at 5:59 am

   Great post. Thanks!