LEED certification

Close-up of colorful zoning map of unidentified city.

How Zoning Affects Greenhouse Gas Emissions

As the urgency of the climate crisis increases, a paper in the Notre Dame Law Review argues that increased density is not a universally effective strategy to reduce emissions and that different strategies are needed for low-carbon places versus high-carbon ones.

June 6, 2024 - Nate Luce

Ivy Covered Green Building

15 Cities Receive Grant Support LEED for Cities and Communities Program

The LEED for Cities and Communities grant program will support the first 15 cities to seek certification under LEED v4.1

May 25, 2019 - Smart Cities Dive

Smart Home

Net-Zero Energy Homes Use Technology to Work With the Energy Grid

A housing development near Tampa will have high-tech smart homes with grid-optimized solar power.

November 12, 2018 - Fast Company

Green

The Search for a New Green Building Standard

The need to slash emissions from buildings is increasingly urgent, and critics say LEED won't get us there.

June 8, 2018 - CityLab

Twin Cities Top Annual ' Green Building Adoption Index'

CBRE and Maastricht University 2015 edition of an index measuring the adoption of the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program and the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED standard.

June 30, 2015 - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Georgia Could End LEED Ratings for State Buildings

The LEED green building rating system doesn't acknowledge lumber from the state of Georgia as sustainable, so one state lawmaker suggests throwing out LEED altogether. Critics call it throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

March 25, 2015 - WABE

India's Energy and Resources Institute Taking the LEED

India’s foremost environmental think tank is touting a recently developed sustainable building certification program "Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment" (GRIHA) as more holistic than LEED. Could it also help enforce labor laws?

January 19, 2013 - Green Futures Magazine

Maine Nixes LEED Certification for State Buildings

Governor Paul Lepage of Maine has banned the use of LEED certification in state buildings. Lloyd Alter at Treehugger says it's all about the timber industry.

December 21, 2011 - Treehugger

Is the U.S. Green Building Council Too Powerful?

Architect Michael Liu asks, "Is it appropriate for a private fee-generating nongovernmental organization to assume what amounts to a regulatory role in the building industry?"

June 6, 2011 - ArchitectureBoston

Sustainable Pittsburgh

The public image of Pittsburgh is of a dirty, industrial city, but the city has been at the forefront of sustainability for some time.

March 17, 2010 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

Parking Policy Reform More Important Than LEED Certification

Local governments are increasingly encouraging or even requiring LEED certification in new development, which is nice, but most continue to require generous minimum parking supply, which contradicts their goals.

March 15, 2010 - Todd Litman

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.