855773520-LEED-v5-ID-C-Reference-Guide-Launch-Edition-1 - Page 052

Extracted Content

Projects must rethink the dominance of traditional transportation approaches, encouraging a fundamental mode shift away from single-occupancy vehicles to low-carbon alternatives ( LTc2: Transportation Demand Management, LTc3: Electric Vehicles ).

Quality of life By promoting more equitable and healthy communities through compact and connected growth, the LT category provides pathways to affordable housing and sustainable transportation in the surrounding community ( LTc1: Compact and Connected Development ). This holistic approach fosters more inclusive, resilient, and economically vibrant neighborhoods. By encouraging projects to embed these principles, the category helps create communities where people can thrive.

Ecological conservation and restoration Implementing low-carbon transportation and compact development options reduces emissions and mitigates urban sprawl, which disrupt ecosystems and natural habitats. [16] Experts estimate that about one-third of all terrestrial species will experience habitat loss, with some losing at least a tenth of their remaining habitat if global urbanization continues at its current rate through 2050. [17]

Through these strategies, the LT category aims to support a transformative increase in understanding land use choices, to accelerate the adoption of EV infrastructure, to foster the transition to low-carbon transportation, and to enable project teams to see the enormous potential to use location choice for supporting not only their own building, but also their surrounding community.

16 Haddaoui, Catlyne, “Cities Can Save $17 Trillion by Preventing Urban Sprawl”, World Resources Institute.https://www.wri.org/insights/cities-can-save-17-trillion-preventing-urban-sprawl. 17 1. William F. Laurance and Jayden Engert, “Sprawling Cities Are Rapidly Encroaching on Earth’s Biodiversity,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119, no. 16 (March 31, 2022), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2202244119.

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Interior Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 41