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Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To promote projects that have high levels of internal connectivity and are well connected to the community at large. To encourage development within existing communities, thereby conserving land and promoting multimodal transportation. To improve public health by encouraging daily physical activity and reducing the negative effects of motor vehicle emissions.
Requirements
Locate or design the project such that its internal connectivity falls within one of the ranges listed in Table 1. If the project has no internal circulation network, the connectivity within a ¼-mile (400-meter) distance of the project boundary must be used.
Table 1. Points for connectivity
Intersections per square mile |
Intersections per square kilometer |
Points |
|---|---|---|
300–400 |
116–154 |
1 |
> 400 |
> 154 |
2 |
AND
Design or locate the project such that a through-connection (of the circulation network) intersects or terminates at the project boundary at least every 400 feet (122 meters) or at existing abutting intervals and intersections of the circulation network, whichever is the shorter distance. Include a pedestrian or bicycle through-connection in at least 90% of any new culs-de-sac. These requirements do not apply to portions of the boundary where connections cannot be made because of physical obstacles, such as prior platting of property, construction of existing buildings or other barriers, slopes steeper than 15%, wetlands and water bodies, railroad and utility rights-of-way, existing limited-access motor vehicle rights-of-way, and parks and dedicated open space. See all forum discussions about this credit »What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »Frequently asked questions
See all forum discussions about this credit »Addenda
7/8/2017 – Updated: 1/16/2018
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
1/27/2017
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:
(a) Can intersections occurring at levels of circulation above a project's primary ground plane be considered toward its connectivity score? Examples include projects with integrated skywalks or an elevated pedestrian plane.
(b) Can intersections occurring at levels of circulation below a project's primary ground plane be considered toward its connectivity score? Examples include projects atop of an underground transit hub with one or more intersecting subterranean transit rights-of-way, projects built on a podium or platform as the "street-level" with a physically depressed motorized circulation level underneath, OR projects atop of a network of pedestrian tunnels.
(c) Can intersections occurring at merging levels of circulation be considered toward its connectivity score? Examples include projects with primary circulation at the street level that are bisected by a riverwalk below street-level or by an elevated trail/right-of-way above the street-level, where intersections occur at the entry and egress points along these features.
Ruling:
The question seeks clarification on how to determine various connectivity measures for projects that contain means of circulation on several different levels. Credits related to connectivity and the urban design of streetscapes are intended to determine both how the project itself performs and how the project relates to its surroundings; so, it is important that the design and connectivity of the circulation network on the main ground level be strong enough to meet the credit requirements on their own. Therefore the overall response is no.
Specifically, regarding whether intersections occurring at levels of circulation above a project's primary ground plane be considered toward its connectivity score? (E.g. projects with integrated sky-walks or an elevated pedestrian plane—i.e. Downtown Akron Skywalks, Minneapolis Skyway System, etc.) While intersections occurring at levels of circulation above a project's primary ground plane may contribute to project occupant mobility, only the ground level intersection should be used to determine the project’s connectivity. Ground level is defined as the addressable, at-grade street and pedestrian network.
Regarding whether intersections occurring at levels of circulation below a project's primary ground plane be considered toward its connectivity score? (E.g. projects atop of an underground transit hub with one or more intersecting subterranean transit rights-of-way, projects built on a podium or platform as the "street-level" with a physically depressed motorized circulation level underneath or projects atop of a network of pedestrian tunnels—i.e. Toronto PATH.) While intersections occurring at levels of circulation below a project's primary ground plane may contribute to project occupant mobility, only the ground level intersection should be used to determine the project’s connectivity.
Finally, regarding whether intersections occurring at merging levels of circulation be considered toward its connectivity score? (E.g. projects with primary circulation at the street level that are bisected by a riverwalk below street-level or by an elevated trail/right-of-way—i.e. the High Line in Manhattan—above the street-level, where intersections occur at the entry and egress points along these features.) Since connectivity and urban design features should meet credit requirements at the primary ground plane, intersections at merging levels cannot contribute to credit achievement.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To promote projects that have high levels of internal connectivity and are well connected to the community at large. To encourage development within existing communities, thereby conserving land and promoting multimodal transportation. To improve public health by encouraging daily physical activity and reducing the negative effects of motor vehicle emissions.
Requirements
Locate or design the project such that its internal connectivity falls within one of the ranges listed in Table 1. If the project has no internal circulation network, the connectivity within a ¼-mile (400-meter) distance of the project boundary must be used.
Table 1. Points for connectivity
Intersections per square mile |
Intersections per square kilometer |
Points |
|---|---|---|
300–400 |
116–154 |
1 |
> 400 |
> 154 |
2 |
AND
Design or locate the project such that a through-connection (of the circulation network) intersects or terminates at the project boundary at least every 400 feet (122 meters) or at existing abutting intervals and intersections of the circulation network, whichever is the shorter distance. Include a pedestrian or bicycle through-connection in at least 90% of any new culs-de-sac. These requirements do not apply to portions of the boundary where connections cannot be made because of physical obstacles, such as prior platting of property, construction of existing buildings or other barriers, slopes steeper than 15%, wetlands and water bodies, railroad and utility rights-of-way, existing limited-access motor vehicle rights-of-way, and parks and dedicated open space.