New and Notable A Citizen's Guide to Green Most of us have
wondered if a new development in our community was a good idea,
whether it was environmentally friendly, or whether or not we
should support it. A Citizen's Guide to LEED for Neighborhood
Development (LEED-ND) is a hands-on introduction to making our
communities better and greener that the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) has developed for local environmental
groups, smart-growth organizations, neighborhood residents, and
anyone else interested in the cause. LEED-ND is a comprehensive
and logical rating system that reflects current thinking about
smart, green, sustainable, and well-designed neighborhoods. For
neighborhood-scale development to be certified by the U.S. Green
Building Council as environmentally exemplary, it must meet the
criteria listed in the LEED-ND system. Projects that score
higher under the criteria are awarded higher ratings.
Developments and neighborhoods that earn high scores under LEED-
ND will generally have lower emiss