Certified Case Studies

UniverCity is a market-based sustainable community adjacent Vancouver, BC developed by the SFU Community Trust (the Trust). “4 Cornerstones” – Environment, Equity, Education and Economy – are UniverCity’s framework for development. DOWNLOAD THE REPORT: https://archive.living-future.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/UniverCity-LC-Development.pdf

Local partners from the City of Bend worked closely with the Institute to infuse their Central Area Redevelopment with Living Building principles. The project team looked at ways to leverage future redevelopment to reknit an existing district back into the downtown and created a framework for a net zero energy and water community. DOWNLOAD THE…

The First Hill area and surrounding neighborhoods in Seattle are the main focus in the Living Community Challenge’s second round of pilot cities. The Institute and partners have been working to create a Living Community Vision for the neighborhood that will guide neighborhood groups, planners, and developers in their work in the community. This document is the summation…

The Chinatown-International District is exploring a variety of implementation projects that incorporate Living Community Challenge principles. Danny Woo Community Garden has embarked on a community-driven depaving effort for 1,500 square feet of public right of way. In this new green space, 500 square feet of gathering space, including seating, would be created; clean water would…

This project, in the Lower Ninth 9th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana, will redevelop the historic Holy Cross School and site as a mixed-use neighborhood. The site and school building were damaged in Katrina and have been vacant since. LBC and LCC teams have been working with the project team on materials health for the…

Normal, Illinois has been a leader in making sustainable development happen for the last decade. They were the first LEED ND project, and continue their history of innovation by becoming the 2nd registered project under the Living Community Challenge. This project is looking at the redevelopment of 7.5 municipally owned acres into a mixed-use neighborhood…

The City of Seattle is considered to be at the forefront of sustainability so it is only fitting that there be a Living Community within its boundaries. North Rainier is a Hub Urban Village with remarkable existing and potential strengths. Because of its close proximity to downtown, the numerous underdeveloped or vacant properties, the existing…

With 800 ft of waterfront along the St. Lawrence River and the Seaway, this 6.25-acre site holds a rich history of diverse uses including a Shipbuilding fort (French 1758-63, British during 1770s War of Independence), Upper Canada’s Largest Flour mill in the 1830s, a large bootlegging distillery in the 1860s, a submarine sonar chart company…

This project explores how the Living Community Challenge can be used as a tool by existing residential neighborhoods to not only maximize the social and environmental benefits of community redevelopment, but also address some of the inherent challenges: maintaining affordability for existing residents, guarding against gentrification, and minimizing the displacement of homes, businesses, and institutions.…

Positioned on the shores of Sarasota Bay between the urban core of the city and an adjacent residential neighborhood, sits Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, the world’s only botanical research garden specializing in epiphytes, or air plants, such as orchids and bromeliads. Since its inception, Selby Gardens has become a leading botanical garden in the United…