December 28, 2012—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Land Use Law Center at Pace Law School have released two new free resources—the Technical Guidance Manual for Sustainable Neighborhoods and the Neighborhood Development Floating Zone—to help local governments leverage the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Development rating system (LEED-ND) as a sustainability tool.
As the USGBC notes, traditional U.S. zoning codes have resulted in communities with separated land uses and low-density sprawl that contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions through vehicles miles traveled, building energy consumption, increased potable water consumption, and loss of natural resources, among other environmental and social consequences. Local governments can combat these challenges by adopting plans and regulations reflecting more sustainable land use patterns. Although many communities have already taken significant action, many more are realizing that green neighborhood development practices—such as building narrower streets and creating more compact, mixed-use development—are not permitted presently under their municipal codes.
As the first national benchmark for green neighborhood design, LEED-ND integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism, and green building, and is a planning tool available to local governments that want to support and encourage sustainable development within their communities. Sustainable neighborhood development, as defined by LEED-ND, benefits communities by reducing urban sprawl, increasing transportation choices and decreasing automobile dependence, encouraging healthy living, and protecting threatened species, says the USGBC.
Drawing from the experience of more than 60 municipalities that incorporated LEED-ND into their land use planning efforts, the Technical Guidance Manual for Sustainable Neighborhoods provides elected officials, local planners, and other professionals and interested stakeholders with the tools necessary to improve communities through sustainable neighborhood development. The manual outlines ways municipalities can integrate criteria from LEED-ND prerequisites and credits into local planning, regulatory, and policy initiatives.
Augmenting the manual, the Neighborhood Development Floating Zone is a model ordinance to help local governments foster green community development using the LEED-ND rating system. The Floating Zone is offered as a cost-effective and efficient tool that can be used by local governments hoping to incentivize the private sector to follow green neighborhood development principles when the more extensive zoning update process laid out in the manual is not an option.
