Greenhouse gas reduction: Creating walkable neighborhoods and towns decreases car trip generation by up to 40% compared to conventional development patterns.
As noted in the a study on travel behaviors in several neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area "concluded that for each doubling of density, the average vehicle miles traveled per person each year is reduced by 25% to 30%." Air Resources Board's 1997 "Land Use Air Quality Linkage Report” http://www.arb.ca.gov/ch/programs/link97.pdf
California’s Senate Bill 375: This bill recognizes the greenhouse gas reduction benefits of walkable neighborhoods and gives priority to compact developments near transit facilities in terms of transportation dollars.
North River, Petaluma
LEED-ND:
Recognizing the link between creating walkable environments and environmental benefits, LEED-ND was created by the US Green Building Council.
The LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a development's location and design meet accepted high standards for environmentally responsible, sustainable, development. From US Green Building Council. http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=148
LEED ND Technical Advisory Group: Lois Fisher serves on the national USGBC LEED ND Technical Advisory Group. She is working to continue to make changes to the rating system to increase the walkability of LEED for Neighborhood Design projects.
