LEED CoreConcepts&Strategies_3rd edition - Page 062

Extracted Content

NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERN AND DESIGN

Community layout and planning influence occupants’ and residents’ behavior while setting a standard for future development. For example, where culs-de-sac connect to increasingly wide connector roads, services are clustered into strip malls, and jobs are centered in office parks, the emphasis is on the private realm and the automobile. On the other hand, in communities with well-connected street grids, diverse land uses, and buildings facing wide sidewalks, the emphasis is on pedestrians and the public realm. Neighborhood pattern and design strategies are those that help make a project easy to navigate, accessible, and appealing to pedestrians. The focus is on the diversity of land uses, the design of streets, and the functions of the community. Residents meet their needs within their neighborhoods, including going to work or school, finding places to meet or play, and getting healthful food.

STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERN AND DESIGN:

•• DESIGN WALKABLE STREETS. Focus on building frontage, ground-level façade, building height-to-street-width ratio, and sidewalks. Limit street speeds.

•• INCLUDE STREET TREES, shade, benches, and other amenities for pedestrians.

•• USE COMPACT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES. Consolidate development by increasing the number of units of residential space and square feet of commercial space per acre.

•• PROMOTE CONNECTIVITY. Limit culs-de-sac, prohibit gated communities, and use a street grid pattern.

•• PROVIDE DIVERSE LAND USES. Include a wide mix of services, such as shops, restaurants, schools, religious centers, grocery stores, parks, civic buildings, and recreational facilities.

•• CREATE A DIVERSE COMMUNITY. Provide housing types for a wide range of incomes and abilities. Incorporate, rather than segregate, affordable and senior housing.

•• SUPPORT ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE FOOD. Include community gardens, farmers markets, urban farms, and community-supported agriculture programs.

•• ENSURE THAT ALL RESIDENTS HAVE EASY ACCESS TO GROCERY STORES and other food choices beyond fast food.

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