Contact: Dave DeFusco, Director of Communications, 203-436-4842

For immediate release: June 26, 2007

New Haven, Conn. — Yale researchers have created a rating system to encourage ecologically sound land development.

The Land and Natural Development (LAND) Code: Guidelines for Sustainable Land Development, published by John Wiley & Sons, provides architects, engineers, landscape architects, developers and city officials with a science-based rating system that awards either a silver, gold or platinum designation based on how well a parcel of land is developed in harmony with the natural environment.

"The goal in creating the LAND code has been to delineate a clear and practical pathway for developing sites in harmony with natural processes," said Gaboury Benoit, a co-author of the book and professor of environmental chemistry at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. "Land will inevitably be developed, and this book shows how that can be done with the least environmental harm."

The book includes easy-to-read chapters on water, soil, air, energy, living resources, and materials, and contains examples of projects that have been sustainably developed, meaning that an ecosystem must maintain a defined or desired state of ecological integrity over time.

Retaining ecological integrity does not necessarily mean leaving nature alone, according to co-author Diana Balmori, a landscape architect and lecturer in landscape and urban history at Yale. "Sometimes the best results can be achieved with intensively engineered methods," she said. "Nevertheless, we try to recommend ways that natural processes can be partly retained or re-created by the use of engineered structures and practices that emulate the natural processes they supplant.

"We believe that environmental sustainability furthers human sustainability by creating systems that contribute to people’s comfort, enjoyment and health."

To purchase a copy of the LAND Code, visit the website for John Wiley & Sons.