ShareThisCertification: A Tool for Healthy Neighborhoods
Today’s communities are not doing what they should be – keeping people healthy and safe. Part of the problem is that our transportation infrastructure is set up to support independent automobile travel rather than alternative means such as pedestrian, bicycle or public transportation. This car-reliant society not only has a negative impact on the environment, but affects our health, pocketbooks, and social interaction. A growing body of research that shows how social stimulation and interaction with nature and open space creates a significant improvement in people’s mental and physical health. When looking at the way our communities function, design can play a huge role in enabling a sustainable, healthier, more prosperous and socially active neighborhood.
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Green neighborhood certifications can play a huge role in this process by setting up benchmarks to achieve these goals. Most certification programs are point-based, with prerequisites required for program participation, ensuring that certified neighborhoods achieve at least minimum performance in areas that are critical for a sustainable community. The Earth Advantage Community program looks at four different aspects of design that can help achieve a more sustainable lifestyle: natural systems, built systems, connecting and transportation systems, and community systems. Each of these areas addresses a range of issues that are important to creating a sustainable community.
One of the key benefits of certification is its role in driving community support for a new development. This can be effective when working with cities, jurisdictions, or members of the community itself. Certain locales may offer expedited permit review or reduced fees for projects that integrate sustainable building practices and demonstrate this commitment through certification. Why? Certified communities offer municipalities the third-party assurance that these neighborhoods have been designed and implemented the way they were planned. Certification can eliminate concerns by officials about whether sustainability features may have dropped off the list due to schedule and budget shifts.
Certification as a tool can be used to make sure projects stay on track with the developer’s original intentions -- especially because certified communities can be more desirable for homebuyers, who may pay more for the privilege of living in such a neighborhood. For example, a project can’t decide whether to integrate a stormwater management plan. However, because it is required for certification the developer will ensure that a plan is in place because he values the benefits and marketability of certification.
Healthy homes, neighborhoods and green building practices are gaining a lot of awareness nationally. Along with this comes the fear of green washing – consumers want some type of ‘proof’ that a development is successfully accomplishing all the goals it promotes in its marketing. Not only can certifications help with the marketing, they also serve as the seal of approval that a community is as “green” as it says it is. All in all, the key objective is providing safe and healthy places for families and individuals to live. The more that neighborhood development is given a place in the green building world, the more communities will have access to healthy lifestyles, for now, and the future.
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