At its core, the goal of reducing global carbon emissions is a straightforward task- limit burning fossil fuels and sequester more atmospheric carbon.However, when attempting to practically address it, the reality is extremelychallenging because the behaviors that are causing increased atmosphericcarbon are spread across many sectors: buildings, transportation, food, waste,water, goods, data storage, medical services, and manufacturing. Two of thelargest sectors, buildings and transportation, can be significantly influenced byland use planning and urban design. Both buildings and cars use substantialamounts of energy to operate and require momentous carbon to constructbuildings, road infrastructure and vehicles.The density and organization of the buildings as well as the design of thestreetscape is critical to reducing transportation driven carbon. Reducinggasoline fueled car trips required for commuting, errands and entertainment bothdrastically reduce carbon while improving quality of life.Accommodating population growth with appropriate density and walkableneighborhoods rather than suburban sprawl is a positive improvement, but theconstruction still comes with significant embodied carbon. When we look atthe whole carbon lifecycle of a building, part is from operation and part is fromembodied carbon (the energy used to manufacture and transport constructionmaterials). While both are important to address, the embodied carbon occursupfront, not over time. Therefore, it is important to prioritize building reuseand low embodied carbon construction such as biogenic materials, prefabconstruction and decreasing waste.The topics of building energy efficiency, electrification, grid carbon intensity andPV electricity generation are all tied together to produce the carbon emittedby a building’s operation. There are goals to reduce the carbon intensity ofthe electricity grids across America, but when and if this happens is beyondthe control of any individual district. What can be controlled are the buildingstandards for energy efficiency, removing burning of natural gas in buildings withelectric heating and producing as much renewable photovoltaic electricity on siteas possible.The final piece of the puzzle is sequestration. Vegetation sequesters and storescarbon during its growth. It can enhance a city’s microclimate, having positiveeffects on residents and buildings. Planning to maximize green space and treesto create an effective shading canopy has a positive impact on the net carbon ofa district, as well as the well-being of people and local ecosystem.When used all together in an integrated way, all these factors have the capacity towork toward creating a carbon neutral future.INTRODUCTION TOWARD A CARBON NEUTRAL CORRIDOR9
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