this credit applies to:
data Centers (1–5 points)
Warehouses and distribution Centers (1–5 points) hospitality (1–5 points)
healthcare (1 point) new Construction (1-5 points)
Core and shell (1-6 points) schools (1-5 points) retail (1–5 points)
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tablE 1a. Points for average density within 1/4 mile of project (imperial units)
combined density separate residential and nonresidential densities Points bd+c (except core and shell)
Points bd+c (core and shell) square feet per acre
of buildable land density (du/acre) residential nonresidential density (Far)
22,000 7 0.5 2 2
35,000 12 0.8 3 4
tablE 1b. Points for average density within 400 meters of project (metric units)
combined density separate residential and nonresidential densities Points bd+c (except core and shell)
Points bd+c (core and shell) square meters per hectare of
buildable land density (du/hectare) residential nonresidential density (Far)
5 050 17.5 0.5 2 2
8 035 30 0.8 3 4
DU = dwelling unit; FAR = floor-area ratio.
sChools only
Physical education spaces that are part of the project site, such as playing fields and associated buildings used during sporting events only (e.g., concession stands) and playgrounds with play equipment, are excluded from the development density calculations.
and/or
oPTion 2. diverse uses (1–2 PoinTs)
Construct or renovate a building or a space within a building such that the building’s main entrance is within a 1/2 mile (800-meter) walking distance of the main entrance of four to seven (1 point) or eight or more (2 points) existing and publicly available diverse uses (listed in Appendix 1).
The following restrictions apply.
· A use counts as only one type (e.g., a retail store may be counted only once even if it sells products in several
categories).
· No more than two uses in each use type may be counted (e.g. if five restaurants are within walking distance,
only two may be counted).
· The counted uses must represent at least three of the five categories, exclusive of the building’s primary use.
Warehouses and disTribuTion CenTers
oPTion 1. develoPMenT and adjaCenCy (2–3 PoinTs)
Construct or renovate the project on a previously developed site that was used for industrial or commercial purposes (2 points).
LT su RR oun D in G DE nsity an D D iVER s E us E s
Construct or renovate the project on a site that is both a previously developed and an adjacent site. The adjacent sites must be currently used for industrial or commercial purposes (3 points).
and/or
oPTion 2. TransPorTaTion resourCes (1–2 PoinTs)
Construct or renovate the project on a site that has two or three (1 point) or four (2 points) of the following transportation resources:
· The site is within a 10-mile (16 kilometer) driving distance of a main logistics hub, defined as an airport, seaport,
intermodal facility, or freight village with intermodal transportation.
· The site is within a 1-mile (1 600-meter) driving distance of an on-off ramp to a highway.
· The site is within a 1-mile (1 600-meter) driving distance of an access point to an active freight rail line. · The site is served by an active freight rail spur.
In all cases, a planned transportation resource must be sited, funded, and under construction by the date of the certificate of occupancy and complete within 24 months of that date..
healThCare
oPTion 1. surroundinG densiTy (1 PoinT)
Locate on a site whose surrounding existing density within a 1/4-mile (400-meter) radius of the project boundary is: 1. At least 7 dwelling units per acre (17.5 DU per hectare) with a 0.5 floor-area ratio. The counted density must be
existing density, not zoned density, or
2. At least 22,000 square feet per acre (5 050 square meters per hectare) of buildable land.
For previously developed existing rural healthcare campus sites, achieve a minimum development density of 30,000 square feet per acre (6 890 square meters per hectare).
or
oPTion 2. diverse uses (1 PoinT)
Construct or renovate a building on a site such that the building’s main entrance is within a 1/2-mile (800-meter) walking distance of the main entrance of at least seven operational and publicly accessible uses (listed in Appendix 1). The following restrictions apply.
· A use may be counted as only one type (e.g., a retail store may be counted only once even if it sells products in
several categories).
· No more than two uses in each use type may be counted (e.g., if five restaurants are within walking distance,
only two may be counted).
LEED R E f ERE nc E Gui DE f o R B ui LD in G D E si G n A n D c ons t R uction LT
Behind the intent
Because most people prefer to walk no more than a quarter of a mile (400 meters) or five minutes to casual
destinations and no more than half a mile (800 meters) for regular trips such as a daily commute,1 locating different kinds of destinations close to each other achieves a long list of documented environmental and social benefits. For example, doubling residential and nonresidential density reduces the length of vehicular trips and total air pollution by 30 percent.2 Air particulate levels go down along with greenhouse gas emissions, reducing transportation’s climate change effects.3 Furthermore, per capita pedestrian and bicycle injuries and deaths tend to be fewer in denser neighborhoods with more pedestrians and cyclists, since motorists must drive more slowly and carefully in these areas. The rate of car collision fatalities goes down, too, as the average length of vehicular trips grows shorter. Moreover, density improves community members’ health. As neighborhoods become more compact, residents who frequently walk, bike, or use transit are more physically fit and less likely to be overweight.4 One study found that the probability of being overweight falls around 5% for every half-mile (800 meters) walked per day.5 Finally, compact development capitalizes on existing infrastructure, saving money and resources while more efficiently using land and preserving habitat, farmland, and open space on the urban fringe.
For all those reasons, this credit rewards a project location that is surrounded by existing built density and within walking distance of a variety of services (“uses”). The density thresholds correspond to the minimum densities needed to support bus transit (seven dwelling units per acre, 17.5 DU per hectare) and fixed-rail transit (12 DU per acre, 30 DU per hectare). Two threshold types are listed, one combining residential and nonresidential densities, the second separating them. Project teams therefore have flexibility in calculating the surrounding built density based on the information available to them.
The credit restricts which uses can and cannot count to ensure a diversity of destinations. The more diverse types of services within walking distance of the project, the more opportunities occupants have to combine their trips when meeting daily needs—for example, stopping at a dry cleaner on the way to the bank.
In this credit, warehouses and distribution centers have different requirements, reflecting the needs of buildings devoted to housing goods (and not people). For such projects, proximity to transportation infrastructure matters more.
SteP-BY-SteP GUidAnCe
neW ConStrUCtion, Core And Shell, SChoolS, retAil, dAtA CenterS, hoSPitAlitY, heAlthCAre
SteP 1. SeleCt ProjeCt Site
Use the criteria in the credit requirements to evaluate potential sites for development. Follow these suggestions to maximize the chances of identifying an appropriate site:
· Limit site selection to areas within the central business district of a city or town center. · Give preference to areas of development that include residential uses.
· Identify both infill sites and existing buildings that can meet the needs of the project.
1. Interview with Dan Burden, Walkable Communities, cited in How to Create and Implement Healthy General Plans (Raimi + Associates and Public Health Law and Policy, 2008), p. B2, changelabsolutions.org/sites/default/files/Healthy_General_Plans_Toolkit_Updated_20120517_0.pdf (accessed June 10, 2013). 2. Raimi, Matthew, and Sarah Patrick with Design Community & Environment, in association with Reid Ewing, Lawrence Frank, and Richard Kreutzer, Understanding the Relationship between Public Health and the Built Environment, Report prepared for the U.S. Green Building Council LEED-ND Core Committee and Congress for the New Urbanism (2006), p. 116, usgbc.org/Docs/Archive/General/Docs3901.pdf (accessed June 10, 2013) 3. Ewing, R., et al., Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change. (Urban Land Institute, 2007), postcarboncities.net/files/SGA_GrowingCooler9-18-07small.pdf (accessed June 10, 2013). 4. Frank, L., et al., Linking Objectively Measured Physical Activity with Objectively Measured Urban Form: Findings from SMARTRAQ, American Journal of Preventive Medicine (February 2005): 117–1255. 5. Frank, L. et al., Obesity Relationships with Community Design, Physical Activity, and Time Spent in Cars, American Journal of Preventive Medicine 27(2) (August 2004): 87–96.
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sTeP 2. idenTify eliGible oPTions select the appropriate option(s) for the project.
· option 1 is for projects in dense locations. spot-check density on an aerial map to determine whether calculations can demonstrate credit achievement.
· option 2 is for projects that are close to a variety of amenities and services. if the main entrance is within easy walking distance of diverse uses, investigate this option in addition to option 1.
· Projects except healthcare may pursue both options; healthcare projects are eligible for only a single option.
option 1. surrounding density
sTeP 1. idenTify buildinG siTes and buildable land WiThin required radius of ProjeCT siTe
on a map, plot a 1/4 mile (400-meter) radius around the project site from the project boundary. · indicate building site types as residential, nonresidential, or mixed-use.
· indicate buildable land (see Getting Started, Previous Development). Do not include project buildings or nonhabitable space, such as parking garages.
sTeP 2. ColleCT inforMaTion on densiTy
for each building site location within the radius, determine whether sufficient information is available to calculate residential and nonresidential building densities separately.
· if the project team cannot determine the number of dwelling units in the surrounding land, use the combined density calculation.
· it might not be necessary to determine the total number of dwelling units or building floor area for all properties within the radius. if the area features a few extremely dense buildings, start with these first to see whether the threshold can be met without further calculations.
· Provided that all land area within the radius is accounted for, project teams must collect only enough density information to demonstrate that values in table 1 are met or exceeded.
sTeP 3. PerforM seParaTe residenTial and nonresidenTial densiTy CalCulaTions, if aPPliCable
if the information is available, calculate the density for each building type within the 1/4-mile
(400-meter) radius. Designate each building and its associated land area as residential, nonresidential, or mixed use (see Getting Started, Density).
· calculate total dwelling units per acre or hectare for all residential buildings. · calculate the total floor-area ratio for all nonresidential buildings.
· for mixed-use buildings within the radius, use Equations 1 and 2 to apply a weighted average of the residential and nonresidential components.
Equation 1. Weighted average applied to residential land use for mixed-use projects
Mixed-use residential land
=
% residential floor area×
Total mixed-use land area (acres or hectares)Equation 2. Weighted average applied to nonresidential land use for mixed-use projects
Mixed-use nonresidential land
=
% nonresidential floor area×
Total mixed-use land area (acres or hectares)add the mixed-use buildings’ dwelling units, nonresidential floor area, residential land, and nonresidential land to the values determined when calculating the densities of purely residential or nonresidential areas (see Further Explanation, Example 1).
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sTeP 4. CalCulaTe CoMbined densiTy, if aPPliCable
when separate residential or nonresidential density calculations cannot be performed for all areas, use Equation 3 instead to determine the combined density within the prescribed radius.
· Exclude parking garages.
· for buildings with simple, rectilinear footprints, estimate floor area by measuring the building footprint area and multiplying it by the number of floors.
Equation 3. Combined density
Combined density (ft2/acre or m2/hectare)
=
Total floor area (ft2 or m2)÷
Total buildable land (acres or hectares)sTeP 5. deTerMine PoinTs earned
Refer to table 1 in the credit requirements to determine points earned, based on the combined or separate residential and nonresidential densities.
for separate calculations, if the point values for the residential and nonresidential densities are different, the lowest performing land use is used to determine the number of points achieved.
option 2. diversity of uses
sTeP 1. doCuMenT nearby uses
survey the eligible existing uses in or near the project and classify the use types according to appendix 1. · to be eligible, uses that are planned but not currently operating must be occupied within one year of the
date of the LEED project’s initial certificate of occupancy.
· use the credit requirements to determine the number and category of uses that contribute to credit achievement. note the restriction on the number of uses of each type (see Further Explanation, Example 2).