Sustainable disaster resilience : incorporating hazard mitigation methodologies into LEED for neighborhood development

In this professional report LEED for neighborhood development (LEED-ND) is analyzed through the lens of disaster resilience and mitigation. The new LEED-ND certification system recently created by the U.S. Green Building Council looks to be a popular method to create sustainable developments. LEED-ND as a system does not take hazards into account when certifying projects. Using HAZUS and hazard assessment methodologies LEED-ND is shown to do almost nothing to mitigate hazard losses. This is seen using the example of two hazard types (fire and earthquake). Since LEED-ND does not address hazards within the context of its system it is shown that LEED-ND is neither truly sustainable nor disaster resilient. Given the current trend of increasing hazard losses initiatives such as LEED-ND will have to address the issue of hazards moving forward.