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LEED-ND Advances to Pilot Stage and Seeks New Urbanist Projects
New rating system shifts focus to sustainable development in green urban neighborhoods
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Thanks to the hard work of many CNU members, the nation's leading green building certification system is now poised to begin certifying green urban neighorhoods. This month, LEED for Neighborhood Development was released in its pilot version. During this phase, the rating system will be tested against real world projects in order to improve the system and its applicability in the marketplace. By submitting to become a pilot project, CNU members have the opportunity for their development to be among the first projects to be recognized with LEED-ND certification. With our expertise in developing compact, complete, and connected neighborhoods, we can help in the refinement of the LEED-ND rating system by participating in the pilot program.
A joint venture of the Congress for the New Urbanism, the US Green Building Council, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, LEED-ND acknowledges that more than a third of greenhouse gases and a similar share of other environmental impacts are generated by buildings (primarily heating and cooling them), but another third is generated transporting people and goods to and from those buildings. Through a multi-year research and review process, the LEED-ND partners have identified draft criteria that will guide developments to achieve significant improvements in sustainability on both of these fronts, as well as related ones such as water management and habitat preservation.
"Just as other LEED systems have improved building efficiency and energy performance, LEED-ND will reward efficient use of land and the building of complete and walkable communities," said John Norquist, President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism. "It is helping to reinforce a more complete understanding of sustainability that extends all the way from the individual building to the neighborhood and community."
Learn more and download the pilot version of LEED-ND at cnu.org/leednd.