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LEED v4
Schools – New Construction
Location & Transportation

Surrounding density and diverse uses

LEED CREDIT

Schools-NC-v4 LTc4: Surrounding density and diverse uses 1-5 points

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Deborah Lucking

AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Fentress Architects
Director of Sustainability

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Credit language

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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Option 1. Surrounding density (2–3 points)
Locate on a site whose surrounding existing density within a ¼-mile [400-meter] radius of the project boundary meets the values in Table 1. Use either the “separate residential and nonresidential densities” or the “combined density” values.
Table 1a. Points for average density within 1/4 mile of project site (IP units)

Combined density

Separate residential and nonresidential densities

Points
BD&C (except Core and Shell)

Points BD&C (Core and Shell)

Points
ID&C

Square feet per acre of buildable land

Residential density (DU/acre)

Nonresidential density (FAR)

 

 

 

22,000

7

0.5

2

2

3

35,000

12

0.8

3

4

6

Table 1b. Points for average density within 400 meters of project site (SI units)
Physical education spaces that are part of the project site

Combined density

Separate residential and nonresidential densities

Points
BD&C (except Core and Shell)

Points BD&C
(Core and Shell)

Points
ID&C

Square meters per hectare of buildable land

Residential density (DU/hectare)

Nonresidential density (FAR)

 

 

 

5,050

17.5

0.5

2

2

3

8,035

30

0.8

3

4

6

DU = dwelling unit; FAR = floor-area ratio.

Physical education spaces that are part of the project site, such as playing fields and associated buildings used during sporting events only (e.g., concession stands) and playgrounds with play equipment, are excluded from the development density calculations.

AND/OR

Option 2. Diverse uses (1–2 points)
Construct or renovate a building or a space within a building such that the building’s main entrance is within a ½-mile (800-meter) walking distance of the main entrance of four to seven (1 point) or eight or more (2 points) existing and publicly available diverse uses (listed in Appendix 1). The following restrictions apply.
  • A use counts as only one type (e.g., a retail store may be counted only once even if it sells products in several categories).
  • No more than two uses in each use type may be counted (e.g. if five restaurants are within walking distance, only two may be counted).
  • The counted uses must represent at least three of the five categories, exclusive of the building’s primary use.
Appendix 1. Use types and categories
SITES-LEED Equivalency

This LEED credit (or a component of this credit) has been established as equivalent to a SITES v2 credit or component. For more information on using the equivalency as a substitution in your LEED or SITES project, see this article and guidance document.

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

When it comes to satisfying the requirements for Option 1, what does the "total buildable land" take into account? And the "total building area"?

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Where do we measure the radius from? In LEED 2009, we measured it from the main entry, but the LEED v4 language is different.

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

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See all forum discussions about this credit »

Documentation toolkit

The motherlode of cheat sheets

LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.

LEEDuser expert

Deborah Lucking

AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Fentress Architects
Director of Sustainability

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USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Option 1. Surrounding density (2–3 points)
Locate on a site whose surrounding existing density within a ¼-mile [400-meter] radius of the project boundary meets the values in Table 1. Use either the “separate residential and nonresidential densities” or the “combined density” values.
Table 1a. Points for average density within 1/4 mile of project site (IP units)

Combined density

Separate residential and nonresidential densities

Points
BD&C (except Core and Shell)

Points BD&C (Core and Shell)

Points
ID&C

Square feet per acre of buildable land

Residential density (DU/acre)

Nonresidential density (FAR)

 

 

 

22,000

7

0.5

2

2

3

35,000

12

0.8

3

4

6

Table 1b. Points for average density within 400 meters of project site (SI units)
Physical education spaces that are part of the project site

Combined density

Separate residential and nonresidential densities

Points
BD&C (except Core and Shell)

Points BD&C
(Core and Shell)

Points
ID&C

Square meters per hectare of buildable land

Residential density (DU/hectare)

Nonresidential density (FAR)

 

 

 

5,050

17.5

0.5

2

2

3

8,035

30

0.8

3

4

6

DU = dwelling unit; FAR = floor-area ratio.

Physical education spaces that are part of the project site, such as playing fields and associated buildings used during sporting events only (e.g., concession stands) and playgrounds with play equipment, are excluded from the development density calculations.

AND/OR

Option 2. Diverse uses (1–2 points)
Construct or renovate a building or a space within a building such that the building’s main entrance is within a ½-mile (800-meter) walking distance of the main entrance of four to seven (1 point) or eight or more (2 points) existing and publicly available diverse uses (listed in Appendix 1). The following restrictions apply.
  • A use counts as only one type (e.g., a retail store may be counted only once even if it sells products in several categories).
  • No more than two uses in each use type may be counted (e.g. if five restaurants are within walking distance, only two may be counted).
  • The counted uses must represent at least three of the five categories, exclusive of the building’s primary use.
Appendix 1. Use types and categories
SITES-LEED Equivalency

This LEED credit (or a component of this credit) has been established as equivalent to a SITES v2 credit or component. For more information on using the equivalency as a substitution in your LEED or SITES project, see this article and guidance document.

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 »

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

When it comes to satisfying the requirements for Option 1, what does the "total buildable land" take into account? And the "total building area"?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

Where do we measure the radius from? In LEED 2009, we measured it from the main entry, but the LEED v4 language is different.

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

LEEDuser expert

Deborah Lucking

AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Fentress Architects
Director of Sustainability

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about Schools-NC-v4 LTc4 View the LEED v4.1 version of this credit