LEED for Neighbourhood Development Rating System

The LEED Green Building Rating System is being used to rate the construction of our buildings. This system is now being expanded and will be used not just for buildings alone, but for the design of whole neighbourhoods. The Olympic and Paralympic Village Whistler and legacy neighbourhood (being developed by the Resort Municipality of Whistler) and the Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver in southeast False Creek (being developed by the City of Vancouver) are serving as pilot projects to test the new LEED for Neighbourhood Development Rating System with the Canada Green Building Council.

The LEED system integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism and green buildings to encourage sustainable land use planning on a broader scale. This includes rating elements such as proximity to existing infrastructure, brown field remediation and reduction of automobile dependency.

The Olympic and Paralympic Village Whistler will tap into waste heat from the adjacent waste water treatment plant as part of a district energy system. Affordable resident worker housing, proximity to transit and other essential services are also part of the plan.

The Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver, part of a larger redevelopment effort to revitalize the southeast False Creek area of Vancouver, involves site restoration (from its former industrial state) to provide increased green space, preservation of historic buildings and the development of a district energy system.