Smart Communities

The advancement of Smart Communities in Burlington will ensure that Burlingtonians will enjoy a high quality of life now and in the future within a healthy environment. An important part of this is making connections, by linking landowners and developers to innovative green design features and forward-focused building practices to create communities where residents can live, work and play WHILE reducing their impact on the environment.

Resources

Review our handy Smart Community Checklist (PDF) outlining some of the key design features of a smart community development.
Visit our Live Green: Business & Groups page to discover tip and resources for local businesses and organizations to reduce costs while helping the planet.
You can also check out Sustainable Leadership Business Climate Action Toolkit for ways to manage energy and environmental impacts of your business.
Our friends at The Atmospheric Fund provide resources about how Green Development Standards are key to ensure new construction is environmentally, socially, and economically responsible.
RAIN Community Solutions helps communities manage rain where it falls to save money, reduce flood risk, and protect our water.

More Resources

Action on the climate change emergency here in Burlington prioritizes the advancement of sustainable, smart development projects, homes and communities in the city.

Borrowing from Richmond Hill, the following categories are generally used to apply a sustainability metric tool to achieve healthy, complete and sustainable communities.

Built environment
Mobility
Natural environment and open space
Infrastructure and buildings

Check out BurlingtonGreen’s Smart Community research reports for more information:

Check out these other helpful resources:

Rain Community Solutions’ Soak it Up Toolkit
International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge
Passive House
Well Building
Architecture 2030 Challenge
Clean Air Partnerships