Measuring the Sustainability of Existing Communities Using LEED for Neighbourhood Development (LEED-ND) Rating System

With the increase of awareness on global warming, the interest in creating more sustainable communities is rapidly growing. Sustainable communities promote a lifestyle that is environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. In an effort to promote sustainable communities and provide standard guidelines, the U.S. Green Building Council developed the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) rating system in 2009 as a tool to evaluate the sustainability of neighborhoods that get newly developed. While this is an important step in promoting sustainable communities, there is no rating system for existing communities. This research investigates the applicability of LEED-ND for assessing the sustainability of existing communities. Two communities in the city of Calgary, Canada, are evaluated using LEED-ND as case studies. The results suggest that LEED-ND provides a suitable evaluation basis, however, modifications are needed to make it fully applicable to existing communities. The paper provides suggestions as to how such modifications can be made.