-
Reduce vehicle miles traveled for occupants
Note: This pilot credit was closed for new registrations as of March 1, 2012.
Travel to and from work is a major source of carbon emissions. Locating housing next to job centers will significantly reduce the vehicle miles travelled of the average occupant.
Additional Questions
- Would the project have achieved credit in both options?
- Were the online tools easy to use?
Credit Submittals
General
- Register for Pilot Credit(s) here.
- Register a username at LEEDuser.com, and participate in online forum
- Submit feedback survey; supply PDF of your survey/confirmation of completion with credit documentation
Credit Specific
- Option 1: Use the central business district location map provided at http://www.USGBC.org/LEED/homes
- Option 2: Go to http://htaindex.cnt.org/, find the building site, and select ‘Employment Access Index’ as a map. Zoom in until the number of jobs/square mile are listed for the location. Highlight the jobs density. Greater than 3,183 jobs/square mile is worth 1 point, greater than 6,366 is worth two.
USGBC
Excerpted from LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations
Pilot Credit 29: Housing & Jobs Proximity
Intent
To reduce automobile dependence by locating projects near areas of substantial employment.
Requirements
Option 1: Central Business District
Locate the building near a central business district.
OR
Option 2: Job Center
Locate the building in an area that is within a ½ mile radius of existing full-time-equivalent jobs.
Case 1: Projects With Less Than 2,500 Units
Case 2: Projects With More Than 2,500 Residential Units
Potential Technologies & Strategies
Organizations
LEED Pilot Credit Library
The homepage for the LEED Pilot Credit Library. The LEED Pilot Credit Library is intended to facilitate the introduction of new prerequisites and credits to LEED. This process will allow USGBC to test and refine credits through LEED 2009 project evaluations before they are sent through the balloting process for introduction into LEED.
Articles
Foundations of LEED
Background for the LEED Pilot Credit Library is provided in this foundational document.
LEEDuser is produced by BuildingGreen, Inc., with YR&G authoring most of the original content. LEEDuser enjoys ongoing collaboration with USGBC.
20 Comments
I also agree the HTA index
I also agree the HTA index was extremely user friendly. Our LEED for Homes project was easily able to use this credit as we are located in Washington, D.C. and centrally located near jobs.
I had trouble locating the central business district location map on the LEED For Homes website. The link that is on the pilot doesn't go directly to the location. I even tried to search it on the website and couldn't find it.
PC 29 - Housing & Job Proximity
We were on the cusp of Gold level until our review came back with several points deducted from our energy model. Our Green Rater suggested that we look into the Pilot Credit program and felt confident that we may qualify for several additional points. Within the Pilot Credit Library, we found that several aspects of our project had naturally conformed to the LEED mission of sustainability, accessibility and energy conservation. In particular, that our project is located in an existing densely populated neighborhood of an older Mid-West industrial city qualified us to receive one (1) point for PC 29. There exists many community resources within walking distance of the building and the original fabric of the neighborhood still supports much commercial activity that provides jobs for local residents. Much of the original housing stock still remains intact; while any new development is designed as infill housing to preserve the original scale and character of the neighborhood. Much of the original commercial sector is still intact, with corner stores and blocks that provide a critical mass of commercial offerings. Though the original commercial uses may no longer exist (ex: shoe repair shop), the present commercial offerings reflect current consumer demand.
I find this point very useful in the redevelopment of existing buildings in older inner-city neighborhoods and even densely developed smaller towns. The idea is to promote sustainability through energy conservation by reinforcing a walkable community that provides job opportunities for the people who also live in the same community.
LEED Homes Pilot Credit 29 - Gimme Point
Has anyone else looked at this credit for their projects? It seems like a gimme with the Option 2 threshold and I want to make sure I am not missing something
We have a project we're going for this one on. We're not near to any of the CBD's on the map. However, you get the pilot credit just for trying. I'll post back if we run into any unanticipated issues.
Peter, you have to do more than try—USGBC has tightened up the rules a bit. Check out the guidelines on our LEED pilot credit tipsheet.
A few projects have already submitted this credit to us. If you're in or near a city, Option 2 seems to be easily achievable.
We are already looking at increasing the threshold for Option 2, and either eliminating the 10 mile distance to a CBD, or completely removing that compliance path.
We'd appreciate getting more feedback on this credit based on how your projects would score.
Our project is in a North Shore suburb of Chicago, and were easily able to achieve the 2 points for Option 2, with 27,887 jobs/sq. mile. We would've also qualified for Option 1. The online tools were easy to use, however in the LEED Project Checklist, the available points for ID credits only goes up to 1, so how do we check off for 2?
Rachel, for the Pilot Credits, you can only earn 1 point. The multiple thresholds (and multiple points listed) would be used if/when this becomes a credit in LEED 2012.
Rachel, I ran into the same thing where we had projects in Dallas and Tucson meet the 2 point threshold under both Options. What I was told is that we only get one ID point for meeting the Pilot Credit requirements and completing the survey regardless of the threshold met. If you are working on a multi-family project you may look at Pilot Credit 36 as well. Based on some preliminary computations I think the leakage rateThe speed at which an appliance loses refrigerant, measured between refrigerant charges or over 12 months, whichever is shorter. The leakage rate is expressed in terms of the percentage of the appliance's full charge that would be lost over a 12-month period if the rate stabilized. (EPA Clean Air Act, Title VI, Rule 608). specified should be attainable using typical "ENERGY STAR" measures. Unfortunately I won't know for sure until the next project completes.
Asa and Aaron - thanks for the clarification!
Am I missing something or is there not a central business district location map on the provided link?
We comply easily with Option 2 with 18,000 jobs in downtown Savannah, but was trying to check out option 1 and can't seem to track it down...
on the CBD page http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2271, at the top there is a link "Click here for CBD locator" which should take you to a searchable map.
Is there any way to get this point for locations that are not included on either of the maps? We have a project that is in a college town (Boone, NC) and within 1/2 mile of a college and hospital that we can document have the required number of jobs. However, that town doesn't show up as having a central business district under option #1, and there is no data available for it under option #2. Is it possible to list the large employers and the # of jobs and submit?
Amy,
Yes you can either submit an estimate of the number of jobs to meet option 2 requirements, or details as to why you believe Boone has a CBD for option 1. Option 2 is going to be easier to demonstrate, so I recommend you take that approach.
Hi, I am currently working on an LEED for Homes international pilot project in Hong Kong. The project is located within 3 miles of the financial district in Hong Kong and there should be enough number of jobs to satisfy both Option 1 and 2. However, I am curious to know whether the Pilot Credit Library is applicable to international pilot projects and since the two tools are for US only, is there other acceptable methods to demonstrate the credit compliance?
Hi, First off, I would like to thank you for participating in the LEED for Homes International Pilot. We are happy to have you on board!
International Projects may use the Project Credit Library. I think the easiest way for your project to demonstrate compliance is to demonstrate that there are at least 2,500 jobs within 1/2 mile of the project. Use either government data, or private data. Contact your Green Rater for more information.
It seems to me that if a project meets the requirements for option 1 that it would also be well above the requirements for option 2. Has anyone run into a situation where that is not the case? If not, why is option 1 included?
Yes, I found Option 2 to be very easy to achieve for our project. This, of course, does depend on where your project is located. Our project was 1/4 from Temple University and 1 mile for Center City (CBD), so it was very easy for us to achieve this point. The interface to calculate these jobs numbers was also very easy to use.
I agree, that the HTA Index was extremely user-friendly. Our project surpassed the Option 2 thresholds with ease; perhaps they need to be adjusted because it seems like most people have had the same experience.
We just did a second project using this credit, and the online tool ended up giving us a number that was seven times higher than the top end of the threshold. Our project is downtown, but that seems excessive.
Start a new LEED comment thread