Chapter 5: Location and Transportation Flashcards
ACEEE (American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
A nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1980 whose mission is to advance energy efficiency as a fast, cheap, and effective means of meeting energy challenges.
Bicycle Network
A path or series of paths in rural, urban, or suburban areas that are clearly marked for bicycle travel.
Brownfield
A property on which redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or possible presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
Buildable land
The portion of a site where construction can occur, including land voluntarily set aside and not constructed on.
Community Connectivity
The amount of connection between a site and the surrounding community, measured by proximity of the site to homes, schools, parks, stores, restaurants, medical facilities, and other services and amenities.
Density
A measure of the total building floor area or dwelling units on a parcel of land relative to the buildable land of that parcel.
Development Density
The total square footage of all buildings within a particular area measured in square feet per acre (square meter per hectare)
Diverse Use
A distinct, officially recognized business, nonprofit, civic, religious, or governmental organization, or dwelling units (residential use) or offices (commercial office use). It has a stationary postal address and is publicly available.
Floodplain
Land that is likely to be flooded by a storm of a given size (such as a 100-year storm).
Floor-area Ratio (FAR)
The density of nonresidential land use, exclusive of structured parking, measured as the total nonresidential building floor area divided by the total buildable land area available for nonresidential structures.
Footprint
The area of ground that the building sits upon as defined by its perimeter.
Global Warming
The increase in temperature of Earth’s atmosphere due primarily to the greenhouse gases release from the burning of fossil fuels such as wood, coal, natural gas, and oil.
Greenfield
A site that has never been built on or developed for human use.
Greenhouse Gases
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The most abundant of the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), is released through the burning of fossil fuels and the manufacturing of cement.
Green Vehicles
Vehicles that provide less harmful impacts to the environment than conventionally fueled vehicles. Examples of green vehicles are hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, compressed-air vehicles, hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles, neat-ethanol vehicles, flexible-fuel vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and clean diesel vehicles.
Habitat
A natural environment such as a field, stream, or forest that is home to one or more wildlife species and plants. The LEED rating systems aim to reduce the destruction of natural habitats during construction.
Infill Development
Building and developing in vacant areas of high-density urban centers. Infill development can reduce traffic congestion, save open space, and create more livable communities.
Infrastructure
Roads, electrical lines, sewer lines, phone lines, and other public services permanently installed on developed sites. Locating a project on a previously developed site is advantageous because the existing infrastructure saves costs and lowers the carbon footprint of the project.
Pooled parking
Parking spaces that are shared among two or more buildings.
Preferred Parking
Parking spaces that have the shortest walking distance to the main entrance of the project, exclusive of spaces designated for people with disabilities.
Previously Developed / Disturbed Site
A site that once had buildings, roadways, and parking lots, or that was graded or otherwise altered by direct human activities.
Prime Farmland
Previously undeveloped land with soil suitable for cultivation. Avoiding development on prime farmland helps protect agricultural lands, which are needed for food production.
Redevelopment
Reusing previously developed land.
Remediation
The process of cleaning up a contaminated site by physical, chemical, or biological means. Remediation processes are typically applied to contaminated soil or groundwater.
Shortest Path Analysis
A measurement of how far a pedestrian and bicyclist would travel from a point of origin to a destination, reflecting access to amenities, safety, convenience, and obstructions to movement.
Smart Growth
An approach that protects open space and farmland by emphasizing development with houses, jobs, and services near each other.
Total Parking Capacity
The total amount of parking spaces for a site that includes new and existing surface parking spaces, new and existing garage or multilevel parking spaces, and any off-street parking spaces outside the project boundary that are available to the building’s users. Not included are on-street (parallel or pull-in) parking spaces on public rights of way, parking spaces for fleet and inventory vehicles, and motorbike or bicycle spaces.
Walkability
A metric for how amenable an area is to walking
Water Body
The surface water of a stream, arroyo, river, canal, lake, estuary, bay, or ocean. It does not include irrigation ditches.
Wetlands
land areas saturated by water, such as swamps, marshes, and bogs. Wetlands provide habitats for fish and wildlife, feed downstream waters, trap floodwaters, remove pollution, and recharge groundwater supplies.
7 Original Sustainable Sites Credits
1) Transportation
2) Heat Island
3) Stormwater
4) Brownfield
5) Light Pollution
6) Development Density
7) Site Protection
How much of total greenhouse gas emissions was Transportation responsible for?
33%
4 Main Intents of Location and Transportation
1) Location
2) Transportation
3) Site Development
4) Health and Livability
What is the focus of the Location Intent?
By most accounts, selecting the site location for a building project is the single most important decision a project team can make.
2 Location Intent Strategies
1) Locate the project within a LEED-Certified Neighborhood Development
2) Locate the building within proximity of surrounding density and diverse uses
What are the 2 options for locating a building within proximity of surrounding density and diverse uses?
1) locating the project in or near high-density locations
2) the building’s entrance has to be located within 0.5 miles walking distance of 7 or more diverse uses.
Residential Density
Measured in dwelling units (DU) per acre
Nonresidential Density
Measured by the Floor-Area Ratio (FAR)
Combined Density
Measured in square feet per acre of buildable land
What is the focus of the Transportation Intent?
To reduce the number of people traveling alone in conventional automobiles to and from the building.
6 Transportation Intent Strategies
1) Limit Available Parking
2) Develop in Areas that have Multimodal Transportation Access
3) Designate 5% of all parking spaces used by the project as preferred parking for green vehicles
4) Provide preferred parking for carpools for 5% of the total parking spaces
5) Install electrical vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) in 2% of all parking spaces used by the project
6) Install liquid or gas alternative fueling facilities or a battery switching station in at least 2% of all parking spaces
3 types of parking that are included in Parking Capacity
1) New and existing surface parking spaces
2) New and existing garage or multilevel parking spaces
3) Any off-street parking spaces outside the project boundary that are available to the building’s users
3 types of parking that are not included in Parking Capacity
1) On-street (parallel or pull-in) parking spaces on public rights of way
2) Parking spaces for fleet and inventory vehicles unless these vehicles are regularly used by employees for commuting as well as business purposes
3) Motorbike or bicycle spaces
How does a vehicle become a “Green Vehicle”
It must achieve a minimum green score of 45 on the ACEEE annual vehicle rating guide.
What is the focus of the Site Development Intent?
To protect the land and its human and wildlife occupants from further impacts.
4 Site Development Intent Strategies
1) Avoid developing on environmentally sensitive lands
2) Locate the project on a site that has been previously developed
3) Locate the project on a high-priority site such as a brownfield
4) Develop in areas with existing infrastructure
What areas are considered Sensitive Lands
1) Farmlands
2) Floodplains
3) Threatened or Endangered Species Habitats
4) Water Bodies
5) Wetlands
What is the focus of the Health and Livability Intent?
To provide opportunities to increase the physical fitness of occupants by promoting more walking and bicycling.
8 Health and Livability Intent Strategies
1) Develop in areas that promote walkability
2) Provide bicycle storage facilities, shower rooms, and bicycle networks in close proximity to diverse uses
3) Provide a bicycle maintenance program for employees or bicycle route assistance for employees and customers
4) Provide pedestrian amenities
5) Promote connectivity
6) Create a diverse community
7) Promote access to sustainable food
8) Provide access to grocery stores
