LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND)

The Nation's First Rating System for Green Neighborhoods

CNU has partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) to lay out a coordinated and powerful environmental strategy: sustainability at the scale of neighborhoods and communities. The joint venture, known as LEED for Neighborhood Development (or LEED-ND), is a system for rating and certifying green neighborhoods. LEED-ND builds on USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) systems, the world's best-known third-party verification that a development meets high standards for environmental responsibility. LEED-ND integrates the principles of new urbanism, green building, and smart growth into the first national standard for neighborhood design, expanding LEED's scope beyond individual buildings to a more holistic concern about the context of those buildings.

LEED-ND 2009 Final Version

• LEED 2009 for Neighborhood Development Rating System
• Project Scorecard

General Information

• LEED-ND Public Presentation
• LEED-ND Background
• Frequently Asked Questions

Contact

Nora Beck, CNU Project Manager, 312/551-7300, nbeck {at} cnu org

Member Ballot

CNU requested the input of its members on whether to approve the LEED for Neighborhood Development 2009 rating system. The online ballot was open for 30 days — from August 19 to September 17, 2009 — and members logged in to CNU.org to place their vote. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of launching LEED-ND, 94 percent to 6 percent. Once the polls closed, the CNU board verified the vote and unanimously approved going forward with the launch. For more information, read the related press release.

Letter of Support

Read the recommendation to CNU members on the LEED-ND ballot from the New Urbanist representatives on the LEED-ND core committee as well as members of the CNU Board and the Location and Planning Technical Advisory Group.

Discussion about LEED-ND

Not sure how to vote? Interested in learning what other members think about the rating system? Join the conversation at the CNU Salons.