LEED-Certified Residential Brownfield Development as a Travel and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategy

Abstract

This paper considers the cost-effectiveness of LEED certified brownfield developments as a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction strategy in comparison with other VMT and GHG reduction alternatives. While residential brownfield developments can be significantly beneficial in reducing VMT and GHG emission, adding LEED transportation credits to these developments results in marginal benefits. Compared with conventional greenfield developments, residential brownfield developments can reduce VMT and its consequential environmental costs by about 52 and 66 percent respectively. LEED certified residential brownfield developments that qualify for the applicable LEED transportation credits can have an additional 0.03% to 3.5% GHG reduction compared with conventional greenfield developments. Implementation and documentation costs of LEED criteria can have a potential negative impact on the cost savings of LEED certified brownfield developments. In addition, LEED transportation criteria are implemented by developers, while the residents benefit from the savings (i.e., time, fuel and maintenance). Society benefits from the reduced external environmental costs. To bridge the gap between costs incurred by the developers and benefits gained by the society and residents, governments can play a significant role by providing incentives. Furthermore, results show that with minimal implementation cost incurred by transportation authorities (about 75 to 95 percent less than other VMT reduction strategies), brownfield developments as well as LEED certified brownfield developments that have earned VMT reduction points can be a beneficial travel demand strategy and an environmentally viable option to assist federal, state, and local governments with their greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. Results of this study show that effective collaboration between transportation and environmental agencies to select those brownfield sites with the highest cost saving potentials can assure a favorable outcome when it comes to decreasing VMT and GHG emissions. Furthermore, providing incentives and guidance to private developers of brownfields can expedite attainment of the VMT and GHG reduction goals set by the public sector.

Application of GIS to Prioritize Brownfield Sites for Green Building Construction Based on LEED Criteria

“…On average, brownfield redevelopment for residential construction purposes were found to reduce vehicle travel by 52% compared to conventional greenfield development (Mashayekh 2012). Reductions in vehicle travel also translate into economic savings for occupants, where a LEED certified average household was estimated to save between $3,500-$4,000 following brownfield redevelopment (Mashayekh 2015).…”