The sustainable community design encourages the development of healthy, active, and efficient neighborhoods. It emphasizes the creation of compact, walkable, vibrant, mixed-use neighborhoods with good connections to nearby communities.

Sustainable community design reduces:

·         the impacts of urban sprawl, or unplanned, uncontrolled spreading of urban development

·         vehicle trips and miles traveled and the risk of obesity, heart disease, and hypertension by encouraging daily physical activity associated with walking and bicycling

·         the impacts to natural water resources, and reduces burdens on community water supply and wastewater systems

·         the adverse environmental impacts of extracting and processing virgin materials by using recycled and reclaimed materials, and the volume of waste deposited in landfills and incinerators

Sustainable community design encourages:

·         the design and construction of energy efficient buildings that reduce air, water, and land pollution and adverse environmental impacts from energy production and consumption

·         the development of energy-efficient neighborhoods by employing district heating and cooling strategies

·         on-site renewable energy production to reduce the adverse environmental and economic impacts associated with fossil fuel energy production and use

·         community-based food production, improve nutrition through increased access to fresh produce

·         biodiversity preservation of small farms producing a wide variety of crops

Dr. Hongxi Yin is a visiting assistant professor of Engineering Education and Civil Engineering at Purdue. He is an architect and a mechanical engineer in training. He is a LEED AP (accredited professions) and recently became a LEED Faculty ^TM, the first and only licensed sustainable building and community educator located in the State of Indiana. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Ph.D. degree in building performance and diagnostics.