Location & Transportation

1
Learning Objectives

✓ Sensitive land protection

✓ High priority site
✓ Surrounding density and diverse uses
✓ Access to quality transit
✓ Bicycle facilities
✓ Reduced parking footprint
✓ Green Vehicles
✓ LEED for Neighborhood Development Location
 Location & Transportation overview

✓ Location of site
✓ Transportation from and to site

Objective
✓Reduce the environmental impact associated with site selection
✓Reduce the environmental impact associated with transportation
✓Increase physical activity and Promote healthy lifestyle.
Sensitive Land Protection
 Intent

✓Avoid Development of environmentally sensitive sites

✓ Reduce the environmental impact because of the development
Strategies & Implementation
Avoid development of Environmentally sensitive
sites
Do not develop buildings or hardscape on
✓ A farm land
✓ Land close to water bodies- at least 100’ away
✓Flood prone area. (Floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance of
flooding in any given year) i.e. the probability of flooding in the site
should be less than 1%
✓ Land identified for endangered species.
Endangered Species: Population of organisms which is at risk of becoming
extinct
Avoid development of Environmentally
sensitive sites
✓ Land close to wetland-at least 50’away
Wetland: A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with
moisture either permanently or seasonally.
 Select Previously Developed Site

✓ Previously developed sites are altered by paving, construction, and/or

land use that would typically have required regulatory permit.
✓ Development of previously developed sites preserve, undeveloped
Greenfield sites, farmlands and environmentally sensitive sites
High Priority Site
 Intent

✓ To encourage project location in areas with development constraints

Strategies & Implementation
 Locate the project in infill site of an existing
historic district
✓ Infill development involves developments with in urban area

✓ Historic district is a group of buildings, structures, objects, and sites that have been
designated or determined to be eligible as historically and architecturally significant.
 Redevelop Brownfield Site

✓ Brownfield: Contaminated Site, requires remediation for development

✓ Site declared as Brownfield by Government Agencies, Local voluntary cleanup

programs or Environmental Site Assessment
 Locate the Project in a Priority
Designation
Priority designations are the sites whose development is encouraged or
supported by Government
 Significance

✓ Infill site/Brownfield Site or priority designations will have existing

infrastructure and hence reduces the load on infrastructure requirement

✓ Development of these sites preserves undeveloped Greenfield sites

Surrounding Density & Diverse uses
 Intent

✓ To promote development in areas with existing infrastructure.

✓ To promote walkability and transportation efficiency
✓ Reduce vehicle distance traveled.
✓ Improve public health by encouraging daily physical activity.
Strategies & Implementation
 High Dense Development

✓ LEED encourages high dense developments

✓ Density of a building is the ratio between total building floor area or dwelling units on
a parcel of land and the buildable land area
✓ Points allotted based on density of project and surroundings within ¼ mile
 Diverse Uses

LEED encourages developments with access to

diverse uses
✓ Points allotted based on number of diverse use
spaces within ½ mile walking distance from
project entrance
✓ Spaces include super market, grocery, restaurants
laundry, place of worship, offices, banks, housing,
parks etc.
✓ Automated Machines such as ATM, Vending
Machines are not counted as diverse uses.
 Significance

✓ High dense development reduces the building footprint , hence

preserves greenfield sites and open spaces
✓Access to diverse spaces uses reduce vehicle distance traveled and
associated environmental impact
✓Access to diverse use also increases physical activity of occupants and
promotes occupants well being
Smart Growth
 SMART GROWTH
Location, transportation alternatives, and preservation of sensitive lands while
also discouraging sprawl promote smart growth. This smart growth approach
seeks to:
• protect undeveloped land
• reuse/restore previously developed sites
• reduce automobile use or promote alternative transportation
• develop efficient rainwater management
• reduce heat island effect
• provide stewardship of nature and the site’s surroundings
• reduce light pollution or minimize light trespass from the building and site
For example: mixed use, compact building design, providing a variety of
transportation choices
 Cul De Sacs

Cul De sacs are dead ended streets

 Cul De Sacs Good or Bad

✓ Cul De Sacs is addressed in LEED Homes and LEED ND

✓ LEED discourages Cul De Sacs as it reduces the street networking and

connectivity and increases the vehicle miles traveled
Access to quality transit
 Intent

✓ To encourage development with transportation facilities

✓ Reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and other
environmental and public health harms associated with motor vehicle
use.
Environmental Impact of transportation

✓ Transportation- Major Contributor of air pollution

Hydro Carbons +S+ air(O2 and N2)= CO+CO2+NOx+SOx

Poisonous
smog
Acid Rain
Green House Gas
Strategies & Implementation
Rapid transit with in ½ mile walking distance

✓ Existing/ planned & funded train/metro station, bus rapid transit stops within
½ mile of pedestrian access are considered to be accessible quality transits.
 Bus stop within ¼ mile walking distance

✓ Existing/ planned & funded bus stop, ride share, street car within ¼ mile of pedestrian access
are considered to be accessible quality transits.
✓ Points are awarded based on number of transits within accessible distance (accessible distance
is 1/2 mile for train stations or rapid transit services and 1/4 mile for Bus stop and rapid transit
services)
 Terminologies

✓ Bus rapid transit is an enhanced bus system that operates on exclusive bus lanes or
other transit rights-of-way. The system is designed to combine the flexibility of buses
with the efficiency of rail.
 Terminologies

✓ Streetcar is a transit service with small, individual rail cars. Spacing between stations is
uniformly short and ranges from every block to ¼ mile, and operating speeds are
primarily 10–30 mph (15–50 km/h). Streetcar routes typically extend 2–5 miles (3-8
kilometers).
 Terminologies

✓ Ride share is a transit service in which individuals travel together in a passenger car or small van
that seats at least four people. It can include human-powered conveyances, which must
accommodate at least two people. It must include an enclosed passenger seating area, fixed route
service, fixed fare structure, regular operation, and the ability to pick up multiple riders.
Bicycle facilities
 Intent

✓ To promote bicycling and transportation efficiency

✓ Reduce vehicle distance traveled.
✓ Improve public health by increased physical activity
Strategies & Implementation
 Bicycle Network

✓ Select Site which has bicycle track

✓ Residential Buildings: Provide secure bicycle parking places
✓ Commercial Buildings: Provide secure bicycle parking places , Shower
and Changing rooms
Reduced Parking footprint
 Intent

✓ To minimize the environmental impact associated with parking

facilities, including automobile dependence, land consumption and
rainwater runoff.
Strategies & Implementation
 Limit the number of parking

✓ Limit the number of parking to Local Zoning

requirement

✓ If local zoning authority do not regulate

parking, refer to Institute of Transportation
Engineering Handbook

Local Zoning Authority- Agency which regulates open space requirement,

building height, parking requirement and safety requirements of building.
In many cities, municipality act as Local Zoning authority
Preferred Parking for carpool vehicles

✓ Within the limited number of parking provide

preferred parking for carpool/vanpool vehicles
Green Vehicles
 Intent

✓ To reduce pollution by promoting alternatives to conventionally fueled

automobiles
Strategies & Implementation
 Low Emitting & Fuel Efficient Vehicles

✓ Fuel Efficient Vehicles are vehicles which

have achieved a minimum green score of 45 on
the American Council for an Energy Efficient
Economy (ACEEE) annual vehicle rating guide.
 Encourage Carpool, LE/FE Vehicles

✓ Provide Preferred parking or discounted parking for carpool/Low Emitting and Fuel
Efficient Vehicles.
✓ Preferred Parking: Parking close to building entrance
✓ Discounted Parking: Should be discounted at least 20%
✓ Provide fueling stations for LE/FE Vehicles
 LEED for ND Development Location

✓ The best strategy which covers all the credits in this

categories and contributes to smart growth
 Intent

✓ Avoid development on inappropriate sites.

✓ Reduce vehicles miles traveled (vehicles kilometers traveled).
✓ Enhance livability and improve human health by encouraging daily
physical activity.
 Requirements

Identify in your area

✓Locate the project in within the boundary of a

development certified under
• LEED for Neighborhood Development
✓Projects attempting this credit are not eligible
to earn points under other Location and
Transportation credits
 Smart Growth

✓ Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation

theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable
urban centers to avoid sprawl.
✓ Advocates compact, transit oriented, walkable, bicycle-
friendly land use, including neighborhood
schools, complete streets, and mixed-use
development with a range of housing choices.
 Summary

✓ Sensitive land protection

✓ High priority site
✓ Surrounding density and diverse uses
✓ Access to quality transit
✓ Bicycle facilities
✓ Reduced parking footprint
✓ Green Vehicles
✓ LEED for Neighborhood Development Location
The over all objective of this category is to reduce environmental
impact associated with site selection and transportation

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