LEED
Fourth Ward Project Aims for Sustainability on Atlanta's Beltline
A new megaproject hopes to bring new life to a former industrial site.
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
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.
Can a Net Zero Cottage Work in the Suburbs?
In its first year alone, Zero Cottage has produced 22 percent more energy than it consumes. But can such an urban project be replicated in a suburban setting?
How Los Angeles' Urban Parks Battle Climate Change
An overview of how Los Angeles County’s Department of Parks and Recreation is creating projects that tackle the effects of climate change, by planner Clement Lau.
Kerfluffle Over Green Building Rating Systems
The latest dust up over green building rating systems, especially their efficacy relative to each other, highlights the danger of mixing the ideals of environmentalism with the self-interest of running an environmentalist organization.
Ohio State Senators Want to Ban LEED
If two Ohio state senators get their way, the Buckeye State will be the latest on the anti-LEED bandwagon.
Seeking Sustainability Beyond LEED
What does it take to build sustainably? That a question that the USGBC's LEED program hoped to define. A group of developers in New York is trying to go beyond LEED to create "truly sustainable buildings".
Building Material Industries Lead LEED Backlash
The USGBC's LEED rating system certainly has its share of warts. But in states across the U.S., the timber, plastics and chemical industries are challenging LEED requirements for insidious reasons: to protect the market for their products.
Brasilia's Green World Cup Stadium Draws Admiration, Controversy
Brasilia’s new soccer stadium, the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia Mane Garrincha, is on track to become the world’s first LEED Platinum-certified FIFA World Cup arena. It's also seen as a symbol of the country's over-investment in sporting events.
Envisioning a LEED-like Ratings System for Infrastructure
Bob Graves discusses the concept behind Envision, "a holistic framework for evaluating and rating the community, environmental, and economic benefits of all types and sizes of infrastructure projects."
Greenest Building in UK Approved
Norwich, England will soon be home to the "greenest building in the U.K.," reports Mark Wilding.
Stripping the Veneer off LEED-Platinum
Is a new luxury 6,721 square-foot home located in a gated community on the far outskirts of Las Vegas truly “the new face of efficiency"? Kaid Benfield elaborates on how the LEED certification system can be so easily gamed.
NYC's Historic Buildings Steal the Energy-Efficiency Spotlight
NYC's recently released energy efficiency ratings are full of surprises: 1930s landmarks such as the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings outperformed later mid-century structures, as well as contemporary LEED-rated designs.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Housing
South Front, in Wilmington, NC, made use of an abandoned and decayed, 40s-era public housing project, salvaging and renovating every building rather than scraping the site. Scott Doyon talks about several of the reasons that's cool.
LEED Certification: Path to Better Buildings or Bigger Bottom Lines?
With supporting evidence from a USA TODAY analysis, Thomas Frank examines the LEED points system and finds that certification, and the tax breaks and other rewards that go with it, can be easily obtained without proven environmental impact.
Will Restaurants Bite on a LEED-Type Ratings System for Food?
Can a new food ratings system do for public health what LEED has done for green buildings? Claire Moloney discusses the certification program being launched by the USHFC that aims to recognize restaurants who use nutrition best practices.
Thinking More Broadly About How to Measure Sustainability
Championed for over a decade, the LEED certification program has given notoriety to many newly constructed 'green' buildings, but new measures are helping us measure sustainability at the community scale, writes Kaid Benfield.
How Green Do You Want To Get?
Elizabeth Daigneau looks at the various ways in which cities and counties can earn eco-certification, including everything from "the roads they build to the vehicles that ride on them."
Pushing Americans to Get Smarter About How and Where They Build
Greg Hanscom reports on efforts by FEMA and the Green Building Council to incorporate "climate resiliency" into green building certification criteria in recognition of the increasing effects of climate change.
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
