{"id":547157,"date":"2010-04-29T14:59:03","date_gmt":"2010-04-29T18:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenrightnow.com\/?p=11256"},"modified":"2010-04-29T14:59:03","modified_gmt":"2010-04-29T18:59:03","slug":"us-green-building-council-adds-certification-for-neighborhoods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/547157","title":{"rendered":"US Green Building Council adds certification for neighborhoods"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Green Right Now Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.S. Green Building Council<\/a> (USGBC) announced a new “LEED for Neighborhood Development” rating system today that aims to reward communities that try to reduce urban sprawl, increase walkability and transportation options, and decrease automobile dependence.<\/p>\n

\"USGBC\"The new certification, developed with the Congress for the New Urbanism<\/a> and the Natural Resources Defense Council<\/a>, hopes to encourage development within or near existing communities and public infrastructure to reduce the impact of sprawl. It is the seventh rating system for the USGBC, which certifies residential, commercial and other properties based on their environmental footprint.<\/p>\n

In an announcement of the new program, the USGBC noted that many studies have found that connecting communities\u2014 keeping them closer to amenities and retail services \u2013 provides economic and health benefits.<\/p>\n

The health benefits come from reduced traffic and air pollution and increased walkability. The shortened travel times also save money, USGBC officials said, citing a 2008 study that showed \u201cautomobile dependent\u201d communities devote 50 percent more money to transportation.
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\n<\/strong>\u201cSustainable communities are prosperous communities for the occupants and businesses which inhabit them,\u201d said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council in a statement. \u201cLEED for Neighborhood Development projects are strategically located in or surrounding metropolitan areas \u2013 often times revitalizing brownfields, infills or other underutilized spaces, opening new revenue streams, creating jobs opportunities and helping to drive the local, state and national economies.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

The LEED for Neighborhood Development program will promote “safe and inclusive communities” with good access to jobs, businesses, schools and parks, as well as ways to get around for pedestrians, bicyclists and those wanting public transit, officials said.
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

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“Half of the buildings we will have in 25 years are not yet on the ground,\u201d said Kaid Benfield, Director of the Smart Growth Program, Natural Resources Defense Council, \u201cWhere we put them is even more important to the environment than how we build them, and NRDC is proud to stand alongside our partners with a system that helps guide them to the right places while avoiding the wrong ones.”<\/p>\n

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The NRDC helped develop the USGBC plans by working with Smart Growth America, a national coalition of organizations working for better communities.<\/p>\n

The Congress for the New Urbanism brought leading city planners and architects from the New Urbanist movement to help develop the new rating system.<\/p>\n

\u201cLEED for Neighborhood Development contains the components for compact and complete neighborhoods. With walkable streets, appropriately-scaled schools, and a mix of amenities close by, residents can lower their environmental impact while improving their quality of life,\u201d said John Norquist, President and CEO, Congress for the New Urbanism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Green Right Now Reports The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced a new “LEED for Neighborhood Development” rating system today that aims to reward communities that try to reduce urban sprawl, increase walkability and transportation options, and decrease automobile dependence. The new certification, developed with the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Natural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-547157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547157\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}