New LEED guidance helps cities expand resilience efforts in response to COVID-19 pandemic
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released two new Safety First pilot credits as part of the LEED for Cities and Communities rating system. The new credits are designed to help local governments and development authorities better prepare for and respond to future pandemic events. The guidance includes strategies for planning, risk assessment and training, as well as evaluating equity implications and impacts to vulnerable communities. Between the increasing risks associated with climate change and the current public health crisis, the new LEED credits provide additional ways to integrate public health and social equity into sustainability and resilience efforts.
The Safety First pilot credits are part of USGBC’s economic recovery strategy introduced in May that centers around a reimagined vision that healthy people in healthy places equals a healthy economy. The new LEED credits, called Safety First: Pandemic Planning and Safety First: Social Equity in Pandemic Planning, are available to LEED for cities and communities projects.