Above the image of a sample area plan, replace "Figure 1" with "Figure 2"
See all forum discussions about this credit »
Credit achievement rate
XX%
Upgrade to LEEDuser Premium to see how many projects achieved this credit. Try it free »
LEEDuser expert
Ellen Mitchell
LEEDuser’s viewpoint
Frank advice from LEED experts
LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Option 1: Development density
Select space in a building that is located in an established, walkable community with a minimum density of 60,000 square feet per acre net (13,800 square meters per hectare net). The density calculation is based on a typical two-story downtown development and must include the area of the project being built.OR
Option 2: Community connectivity
Select space in a building on a site that meets the following criteria:- Is located within 1/2-mile (800 meters) of a residential area or neighborhood with an average density of 10 units per acre net.
- Is within 1/2-mile (800 meters) of at least 10 basic services.
- Has pedestrian access between the building and the services.
- Bank
- Place of Worship
- Convenience Grocery
- Day Care Center
- Cleaners
- Fire Station
- Beauty Salon
- Hardware
- Laundry
- Library
- Medical or Dental Office
- Senior Care Facility
- Park
- Pharmacy
- Post Office
- Restaurant
- School
- Supermarket
- Theater
- Community Center
- Fitness Center
- Museum
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
Is one building or residential area enough to satisfy the residential density requirement?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.) |
My project has access to services that seem to be basic, but are not listed in the LEED Reference Guide—like insurance company, nail salon, auto repair shop. Will these count?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.) |
My project is on a base or campus where some services are available to the population of the project, but not the general public. Do these count?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.) |
For Option 2, does the residential neighborhood with average density of 10 units per net acre have to be existing, or can planned neighborhoods count towards earning this option?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.) |
What site area should be used for an interiors project when figuring out the density radius? The building site area, or building footprint?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.) |
Is my site previously developed?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.) |
What exactly does LEED mean by residential neighborhood or 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.) |
Only a portion of my complying residential development lies within the ½-mile radius. Will this suffice for credit compliance?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 I draw the radius from?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.) |
Addenda
11/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/1/2011 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Replace the definition of "Previously developed sites" with "Previously developed sites are those altered by paving, construction, and/or land use that would typically have required regulatory permitting to have been initiated (alterations may exist now or in the past). Previously developed land includes a platted lot on which a building was constructed if the lot is no more than 1 acre; previous development on lots larger than 1 acre is defined as the development footprint and land alterations associated with the footprint. Land that is not previously developed and altered landscapes resulting from current or historical clearing or filling, agricultural or forestry use, or preserved natural area use are considered undeveloped land. The date of previous development permit issuance constitutes the date of previous development, but permit issuance in itself does not constitute previous development."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In the first line of the paragraph, insert the word "poor" between "have" and "air" so the text becomes "Densely developed communities may have poor air quality..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
12/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In the first line of the second paragraph, remove second comma after "projects" so the text becomes "For mixed-use projects, no more than..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
4/14/2010 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Replace the text with the following:The following exemplary performance paths are available for projectsthat have earned Option 1 under SS Credit 2:1. The project building itself must have a density at least double that ofthe average density within the calculated area, OR2. The average density within an area twice as large as that for the basecredit achievement must be at least 120,000 square feet per acre. Todouble the area, use equation 2 but double the project site area first.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
12/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
In the first line of the second paragraph, remove second comma after "projects" so the text becomes "For mixed-use projects, no more than..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In the sixth line of the paragraph, remove the "?" in the text so it becomes "...of physical activity both of..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In the fifteenth line of Table 3 with the text "Total Building Space," add a "5" to the end of the number "1,018,36" so it becomes "1,018,365"
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
Checklists
Step by step to LEED certification
LEEDuser’s checklists walk you through the key action steps you need to earn a credit, including how to avoid common pitfalls and save money.
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.
Get the inside scoop
Our editors have written a detailed analysis of nearly every LEED credit, and LEEDuser premium members get full access. We’ll tell you whether the credit is easy to accomplish or better left alone, and we provide insider tips on how to document it successfully.
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Option 1: Development density
Select space in a building that is located in an established, walkable community with a minimum density of 60,000 square feet per acre net (13,800 square meters per hectare net). The density calculation is based on a typical two-story downtown development and must include the area of the project being built.OR
Option 2: Community connectivity
Select space in a building on a site that meets the following criteria:- Is located within 1/2-mile (800 meters) of a residential area or neighborhood with an average density of 10 units per acre net.
- Is within 1/2-mile (800 meters) of at least 10 basic services.
- Has pedestrian access between the building and the services.
- Bank
- Place of Worship
- Convenience Grocery
- Day Care Center
- Cleaners
- Fire Station
- Beauty Salon
- Hardware
- Laundry
- Library
- Medical or Dental Office
- Senior Care Facility
- Park
- Pharmacy
- Post Office
- Restaurant
- School
- Supermarket
- Theater
- Community Center
- Fitness Center
- Museum
XX%
Upgrade to LEEDuser Premium to see how many projects achieved this credit. Try it free »
Got the gist of SSc2 but not sure how to actually achieve it? LEEDuser gives step-by-step help. Premium members get:
- Checklists covering all the key action steps you'll need to earn the credit.
- Hot tips to give you shortcuts and avoid pitfalls.
- Cost tips to assess what a credit will actually cost, and how to make it affordable.
- Ideas for going beyond LEED with best practices.
- All checklists organized by project phase.
- On-the-fly suggestions of useful items from the Documentation Toolkit and Credit Language.
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.
Is one building or residential area enough to satisfy the residential density requirement?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.) |
My project has access to services that seem to be basic, but are not listed in the LEED Reference Guide—like insurance company, nail salon, auto repair shop. Will these count?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.) |
My project is on a base or campus where some services are available to the population of the project, but not the general public. Do these count?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.) |
For Option 2, does the residential neighborhood with average density of 10 units per net acre have to be existing, or can planned neighborhoods count towards earning this option?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.) |
What site area should be used for an interiors project when figuring out the density radius? The building site area, or building footprint?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.) |
Is my site previously developed?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.) |
What exactly does LEED mean by residential neighborhood or 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.) |
Only a portion of my complying residential development lies within the ½-mile radius. Will this suffice for credit compliance?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 I draw the radius from?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.) |
11/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Above the image of a sample area plan, replace "Figure 1" with "Figure 2"
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/1/2011 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Replace the definition of "Previously developed sites" with "Previously developed sites are those altered by paving, construction, and/or land use that would typically have required regulatory permitting to have been initiated (alterations may exist now or in the past). Previously developed land includes a platted lot on which a building was constructed if the lot is no more than 1 acre; previous development on lots larger than 1 acre is defined as the development footprint and land alterations associated with the footprint. Land that is not previously developed and altered landscapes resulting from current or historical clearing or filling, agricultural or forestry use, or preserved natural area use are considered undeveloped land. The date of previous development permit issuance constitutes the date of previous development, but permit issuance in itself does not constitute previous development."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In the first line of the paragraph, insert the word "poor" between "have" and "air" so the text becomes "Densely developed communities may have poor air quality..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
12/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In the first line of the second paragraph, remove second comma after "projects" so the text becomes "For mixed-use projects, no more than..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
4/14/2010 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Replace the text with the following:The following exemplary performance paths are available for projectsthat have earned Option 1 under SS Credit 2:1. The project building itself must have a density at least double that ofthe average density within the calculated area, OR2. The average density within an area twice as large as that for the basecredit achievement must be at least 120,000 square feet per acre. Todouble the area, use equation 2 but double the project site area first.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
12/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
In the first line of the second paragraph, remove second comma after "projects" so the text becomes "For mixed-use projects, no more than..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In the sixth line of the paragraph, remove the "?" in the text so it becomes "...of physical activity both of..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
11/2/2009 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In the fifteenth line of Table 3 with the text "Total Building Space," add a "5" to the end of the number "1,018,36" so it becomes "1,018,365"
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
LEEDuser expert
Ellen Mitchell
