What is LEED for Neighborhood Development?
LEED for Neighborhood Development (or LEED-ND), is a system for rating and certifying green neighborhoods. LEED-ND builds on USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) systems, the world's best-known third-party verification that a development meets high standards for environmental responsibility. LEED-ND integrates the principles of new urbanism, green building, and smart growth into the first national standard for neighborhood design, expanding LEED's scope beyond individual buildings to a more holistic concern about the context of those buildings.
Why make a LEED-ND research park?
Green building practices can substantially reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts and improve existing unsustainable design, construction, and operational practices. Among the many stakeholders are developers, owners, community members, architects, and local governments. From retrofitted existing neighborhoods to new green walkable and mixed-use developments, sustainable neighborhoods due to their location, design, and performance have the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from both the building and transportation sectors.