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LOCATION AND TRANSPORTATION (LT)
OVERVIEW
Location and transportation decisions play a crucial role in determining a project’s long-term sustainability potential. The project’s chosen location significantly influences the surrounding environment and community, affecting how people access the site, who can use it, and what impact it has on local resources. By prioritizing strategies at the intersection of resource access, land use patterns, and transportation, the Location and Transportation (LT) category guides projects toward an efficient, equitable, and low-carbon future.
Given this significance, the LT category offers the third-largest number of potential points in LEED v5. It prioritizes location-efficient sites that use existing infrastructure to promote land conservation and support compact, connected communities. Increasing urban density has manifold benefits: preserving natural habitats outside of major corridors, advancing equitable development through transportation access and community connection, and improving infrastructure efficiency. [20] Emphasizing transportation demand management (TDM) further promotes connected alternatives for mobility and equitable development. These benefits could also generate trillions of dollars in economic savings for cities before 2050. [21] One estimate suggests that a more compact approach to urban growth could reduce infrastructure capital requirements by more than $3 trillion USD between 2015 and 2030. [22]
Next, the LT category recognizes electric vehicle (EV) adoption to further reduce GHG emissions and cultivate a transition to more sustainable mobility solutions.
Decarbonization Transportation is responsible for nearly one-quarter of global energy-related carbon emissions. [23] Recognizing the enormous momentum in the transportation sector, LEED v5 introduces measures that anticipate a decarbonized future state. Strategies like transportation demand assessment, enhanced EV incentives, and support for low-carbon and micromobility alternatives, such as public transit, scooters, and bikeshares, can significantly reduce associated project emissions. Public transport like buses and trains can reduce emissions by up
20 Haddaoui, Catlyne, “Cities Can Save 17 Trillion by Preventing Urban Sprawl”, World Resources Institute, (n.d.), https://www.wri.org/insights/cities-can-save-17-trillion-preventing-urban-sprawl. 22 “New Climate Economy Technical Note: Infrastructure Investment Needs of a Low-Carbon Scenario”, Global Commission on the Economy and Climate and New Climate Economy, (2014), https://www.newclimateeconomy.net. 23 “Transport - Energy System – IEA”, IEA, (n.d.), https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport.
U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 51