Unlike many cities, St. Petersburg is defined by its natural beauty as much as its urban core. That’s no secret to the city’s Office of Sustainability and Resiliency, which was just selected by USGBC to begin the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program this year.
LEED is a worldwide metric used to rate green building and sustainability, and the program has been in place 2017 to help local governments in the fight against climate change + advancing social equity and resilience. In short, St. Pete will receive insights into its environmental performance via the LEED for Cities rating system, offering the chance for reflection and improvement.
This will come in handy for the Burg’s unique environmental challenges due to its proximity to water, propensity to flooding, and tropical climate. Earlier this year, leaders approved almost $8 million in funding to tackle flooding especially impacted Shore Acres neighborhood.
Tampa received its LEED gold certification back in 2021, with St. Pete now looking to follow suit.
