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Katelyn Prentiss & Daphne Bernal

Riverfront Park in Newark, NJ

https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/2015-national-award-smart-growth-achievement-booklet

https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2015-09/2015-sg-awards-newark-400.jpg?itok=m7Cz4osS

Class concepts: Built environment contributes to green space and promotes economic development and sense of togetherness in community

Potential health Impacts: Improved mental health through more sunlight, fresh air and exercise. Protects neighborhoods from flooding. Alternative to unhealthy activities, provides a safe space to interact with one another.

Personal Reflection: I think that having a safe and beautiful space to gather in a community is extremely beneficial to quality of life. Outdoor space

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Through the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, EPA recognizes and supports communities that use innovative policies and strategies to strengthen their economies, provide housing and transportation choices, develop in ways that bring benefits to a wide range of residents, and protect the environment.

The 2015 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement booklet includes:

A message from the EPA Administrator

How smart growth protects the environment

About the award

Descriptions and photographs of each award winner

The winners are:
Corridor or Neighborhood Revitalization
Jackson Walk
Jackson, Tennessee

After devastating tornadoes destroyed the downtown, the city rebuilt and revived this 20-acre redevelopment district, which is sparking economic development in surrounding areas and transforming downtown Jackson into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with a strong health and wellness focus.

Watch the video.
Built Projects
City of Hamilton and Historic Developers, LLC, Public-Private Partnership
Hamilton, Ohio

The city worked with Historic Developers, LLC to complete three mixed-use projects that catalyzed investment in Hamilton's downtown. The new amenities, jobs, and housing options are reinvigorating the city's central business district and setting the stage for new economic development. The partnership has led to an ongoing, innovative collaboration among several entities to promote and finance redevelopment in Hamilton.

Watch the video.
Plazas, Parks, and Public Places
Riverfront Park
Newark, New Jersey

Community input was integral to the design of this park, built on a formerly contaminated site. The park reconnects Newark to its river for the first time in decades and is attracting economic development in the adjacent downtown, giving a working-class neighborhood a beautiful and much-needed place to play and relax, and preserving open space along the river that can protect neighborhoods from flooding.

Watch the video.

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2015 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement Booklet | US EPA

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Page linking to videos and booklet about the winners of the 2015 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement: Jackson Walk, Jackson, TN; City of Hamilton and Historic Developers Public-Private Partnership, Hamilton, OH; and Riverfront Park, Newark, NJ.

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U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development

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U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development

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Zoha and Fatmata

Location: Mueller, Austin, Texas

Name: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) program

Additional link:

Connection: The project is about community phsyical wellness and safety that are influenced by neighborhood factors. For example, being able to have safe sidewalks to exercise on.

Health Impacts: It can help your well-being and the community's well-being. It can also create a sense of security since there is accessibility of resources.

Reflection: It's a good program because it's beneficial for all individuals.

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LEED-certified green buildings are better buildings.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the world's most widely used green building rating system. LEED certification provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings, which offer environmental, social and governance benefits. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement, and it is backed by an entire industry of committed organizations and individuals paving the way for market transformation.

LEED v5 is the newest version of LEED. It marks a transformative milestone in the built environment's alignment with a low-carbon future and addresses critical imperatives such as equity, health, ecosystems and resilience. Learn more.

A LEED for every project

LEED is for all building types and all building phases including new construction, interior fit outs, operations and maintenance and core and shell. Check out our interactive Discover LEED tool to get started; then, use the rating system selection guidance to select a rating system.

LEED system goals

LEED-certified buildings are critical to addressing climate change and meeting ESG goals, enhancing resilience, and supporting more equitable communities. LEED is a holistic system that doesn't simply focus on one building element, such as energy, water or health. Instead, it looks at the big picture, factoring in all critical elements that work together to create the best building possible. The goal of LEED is to create better buildings that:

Reduce contribution to
global climate change

Enhance individual human health

Protect and restore water resources

Protect and enhance biodiversity
and ecosystem services

Promote sustainable and
regenerative material cycles

Enhance community quality of life

Of all LEED credits, 35% relate to climate change, 20% directly impact human health, 15% impact water resources, 10% affect biodiversity, 10% relate to the green economy, and 5% impact community and natural resources. In LEED v4.1, most LEED credits are related to operational and embodied carbon. Learn more. LEED categories can also contribute toward meeting the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals. Explore synergies between LEED and SDGs.

Better for business, people and the environment.

Millions of people live, work and learn in LEED-certified buildings worldwide. Here's why.

Better for business and the bottom line

LEED buildings have a higher resale value and lower operational costs than non-LEED buildings. LEED is an essential strategy for achieving ESG, decarbonization and equity goals. LEED-certified buildings are a solid asset for investors, occupiers, and communities. They've proven to be top-performing commercial real estate investments.

LEED helps investors measure and manage their real estate performance. It allows investors to implement management practices that prioritize building efficiency, decrease operational costs and increase asset value.

Since 2018, LEED-certified assets have held a 21.4% higher average market sales price per square foot over non-LEED buildings*.

LEED-certified offices have consistently performed at a premium when it comes to pricing across quality classes and geographies**.

LEED-certified Class A urban office sales generated a 25.3% price per square foot premium over non-certified buildings. In comparison, LEED-certified Class A suburban offices achieved a 40.9% premium over non-certified assets**.

LEED-certified Class B office achieved the highest premium, 77.5%, over its non-certified comparable set**.

* Cushman & Wakefield. (2021). Green Is Good: Sustainable Office Outperforms in Class A Urban Markets.
** Cushman & Wakefield. (2021). Green Is Good: Sustainability's Impact on Office Investment Pricing.

Better for people

LEED-certified buildings focus on occupant well-being, offering a healthier and more satisfying indoor space while addressing community and public health. The rating system focuses on strategies like banning smoking and reducing toxic exposure from materials to improve air quality. Active design and supporting the production of local, sustainable foods promote physical activity and healthy eating.

Better for the environment

LEED buildings use less energy and water, utilize renewable energy and fewer resources, create less waste, and preserve land and habitat. LEED certification is a global solution for cities, communities and neighborhoods. Through sustainable design, construction and operations, LEED can help new and existing buildings to reduce carbon emissions, energy and waste, conserve water, prioritize safer materials, and lower our exposure to toxins.

Buildings account for almost 40% of global energy-related CO2 and are critical in tackling climate change.

Energy-efficient buildings reduce pollution and improve outdoor air quality in major industrialized areas, making LEED a critical tool in reducing smog.

By building to LEED standards, buildings contributed 50% fewer GHGs than conventionally constructed buildings due to water consumption, 48% fewer GHGs due to solid waste and 5% fewer GHGs due to transportation*.

34% lower CO2 emissions*

25% less energy consumed*

11% less water consumed*

78 million tons of avoided CO2 emissions

89/100 average ENERGY STAR score for LEED projects

25% less energy on average used by LEED buildings compared to commercial buildings

1.3 million tons of coal equivalent saved each year

80 million tons of waste diverted from landfills*

* Fowler, Kimberly, et al. Re‐Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings. Sept. 2011.

By 2030, LEED projects will have diverted more than 540 million tons of waste from landfills.

Nearly 4 billion vehicle miles traveled have been avoided by occupants of LEED buildings, thanks to efficient locations and alternative transportation options.

Certified projects are estimated to have cumulatively specified more than $100 billion in green materials.

How LEED works

To achieve LEED certification, a project earns points by adhering to prerequisites and credits that address carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality. Projects go through a verification and review process by GBCI and are awarded points that correspond to a level of LEED certification: Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points) and Platinum (80+ points).

Platinum
80+ points earned

Gold
60-79 points earned

Silver
50-59 points earned

Certified
40-49 points earned

LEED is backed by USGBC -the developers of LEED-and an entire industry of committed organizations and individuals who are paving the way for market transformation. USGBC invests more than $30 million annually to maintain, operate and improve LEED and its customer delivery.

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LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system. Available for virtually all buildings, communities and homes, LEED provides a framework to create healthy, efficient and cost-saving buildings.

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Mark Shehata, Raghad Baker

Local Foods, Local Places

Huntington, West Virgina

https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/local-foods-local-places-huntington-wv

Connected to social and community context and built environment due to using community connections to increase access to healthy food by building markets in the local community that relied on local food.

The potential health impact of this project was that the community now had access to healthy food that they did not have previously and gained space to create community events.

Personal Reflection: This was a good idea because the previous food markets were upgraded in order to improve the community in other ways such as giving access to community events. It also demonstrated that community input was important to the success of a project.

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Cool & Connected Program , Millinocket, Maine

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Cool & Connected Program , Millinocket, Maine

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Sheima and Elyse

Connection to class concepts: Access to high-quality broadband service is necessary for small towns to be competitive in attracting new residents and businesses

What are potential health impacts of the project

Better use of broadband can lead to quality of life improvements, such as local vacant or underused properties, reducing pressure on working lands, and improving air and water quality.

•Personal reflection – You'll have a better quality of life, more connected to the community and having a younger demographic

https://smartgrowthamerica.org/millinocket-recovering-loss-industrial-giant/

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August and Linh- Preserve Open Space and Farmland: Abacoa, Jupiter, FL

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August and Linh- Preserve Open Space and Farmland: Abacoa, Jupiter, FL

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https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/preserve-open-space-and-farmland-abacoa-jupiter-florida

Class concepts: the preserved wildlife space promotes economic development for more green spaces and community trust through educational, cultural, and religious facilities that everyone can access easily through the greenway

potential health impacts: less reliance on public and private transportation via greenway which promotes more physical activity, the stormwater runoff safeguards the community from floods and other natural disasters, more public awareness on how to interact with wildlife????

personal reflection: i like the idea, but i feel like the inclusion of a golf course kind of cancels out the whole environmentally friendly shtick this thing is built on

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Market Street in Passiac, New Jersey

https://togethernorthjersey.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Passaic-Market-St-Report-Final.pdf

Provides a service to the community, promotes social cohesion and nutritious meals

Health impacts- promotes walking (to and from street), promotes social interaction

We both think that this service brings together the community and provides access to nutritious foods.

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Arabela and Anjum

Aseeds Initiative in Duck Hill, Mississippi

https://ecoadapt.org/projects/19/Achieving-Sustainability-through-Education-and-Economic-Development-Solutions

Connection to class: One of their goals is to empower residents to become more involved in achieving community resilience. Paid 18 youth rangers stipends of $10 per hour. Keeping youth out of dangerous situations.

Potential health impacts: installed over 1,000 feet of grey and green infrastructure, installed a water diversion system at the community gym, and mitigated flooding in seniors' homes.

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EcoAdapt :: Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change

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Achieving Sustainability through Education and Economic Development Solutions