LEED Neighborhood Development Overview and Process
What the exam covers
The LEED ND overview domain tests how the rating system is built and how a project reaches certification. Know the 110-point scale, four certification levels (Certified 40–49, Silver 50–59, Gold 60–79, Platinum 80–110), and the five categories: Smart Location and Linkage, Neighborhood Pattern and Design, Green Infrastructure and Buildings, Innovation, and Regional Priority. All prerequisites in SLL, NPD, and GIB must be met; Innovation and Regional Priority points cannot offset a missed prerequisite.
Project types and minimum requirements
LEED ND separates plan certification from built-project certification. A plan can be certified before construction, with credits documented as anticipated; a built project must show what was actually constructed. Projects need a defined, contiguous boundary and neighborhood scale. Phased projects must state which phase carries which credit.
Process and documentation
The path runs registration, credit interpretation requests, preliminary review, final review, and appeal. Documentation includes a scaled boundary and site plan, point-by-point narratives, calculations, and letters of commitment or survey evidence. Plan projects rely more on commitments; built projects rely more on as-built evidence.
Worked example
A mixed-use infill project earns 22 SLL, 26 NPD, 8 GIB, 3 Innovation, and 1 Regional Priority = 60 points. That is Gold (60–79). If the GIB prerequisite Certified Green Building is unmet, the 60 points do not produce certification until the prerequisite is satisfied.
Traps that cost marks
Do not confuse 40 points for Certified with 50 for Silver. Do not treat Innovation as a substitute for a prerequisite. Do not submit built-project evidence for a plan review unless the credit allows anticipated compliance. Do not ignore the boundary: it must contain the areas used for density and transit claims.