Lessons learned while studying for the LEED Exam

As time draws to a close on being a graduate student and life starts to look beyond graduation to the professional world, it has come to the point where becoming certified and licensed is a necessity.  A few weeks ago, JJ and I decided we would tag team studying for the LEED Green Associate Exam and add a feather in our caps as we hit the job market. 

As we continue to study for the exam, I have been reminded the concepts and actions we are encouraged to take as designers / architects. We have come across the notions of brown fields, solar reflectivity, site locations, water management, and many others.

The concept of redeveloping brownfields has become a practice that not only helps in preventing sprawl but also a catalyst for a community. A worthwhile example of brownfield redevelopment can be found with the High Line in New York City. The High Line is famous for taking a portion of New York’s old elevated rail line and re-purposed into an elevated walking path. The entire path of the High Line, not only provided a safe area of healthy walking off the busy street but it also revived a portion of the city as a destination for new businesses and tourist. 

The City of Greenville has seen a successful project as well with the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The trail is an old railway that has been turned into a bike path / walking trail. The trail connects the upper portion of Greenville County to the city. It has created growth within Greenville and also lead to other neighboring towns to create a similar path. 

 

While brownfields aren’t the only way to have a catalyst of growth, brownfields redevelopments do allow for communities to safeguard their existing greenfield sites.  Greenfields are quickly becoming sites of development causing a lack of greenspaces and community enrichment.

From this week’s readings and conversations from Tuesday’s class, it is critical that we look to have development and urban growth in responsible ways. We can’t keep repeating the notion of taking a greenfield site (forested, farmland, or wildlife habitat) and convert it into a strip mall, housing development, or parking lot as a worse case design situation. We have to be better designers and start to help craft growth. If we don’t, there will be further consequences for the future. It is a sad and known fact that we are losing “green” sites and many aren’t going to come back to us.

I don’t believe LEED is the only way to regulate design but I feel we have to start somewhere and LEED is at least a known name to those outside architecture / design. If the conversations about LEED and sustainable design development isn't continued, what is the outlook we are crafting?