What makes a better city? Inside LEED’s urban framework with Dr. Vatsal Bhatt

How do you measure whether a city is actually getting better?

Most people know LEED as the gold standard for green buildings. But cities are more than buildings—they’re systems made up of housing, transportation, public space, infrastructure, resilience, health, and opportunity.

In this episode of Building Better Cities, Kate Gasparro sits down with Dr. Vatsal Bhatt, Vice President at the U.S. Green Building Council and global lead for LEED for Cities and Communities, to explore how one of the world’s most recognized sustainability frameworks has expanded from buildings to the scale of neighborhoods, communities, and entire cities.

They discuss why LEED for Cities and Communities was created, how it differs from traditional building certifications, and why an outcomes-driven, data-centered approach matters when cities are trying to balance growth, equity, climate goals, and quality of life.

The conversation also explores a bigger question: do rating systems simply recognize good projects—or can they actually change how communities are planned, governed, and built?

Whether you’re a developer, planner, policymaker, or someone who simply cares about the future of your community, this episode offers a fresh framework for thinking about what it really means to build better cities.

Resources:

St Paul's The Heights redevelopment hearns LEED Platinum precertification (REJournals)

onMain- Dayton's Innovation District (onMain)

The masterplan of MIND - the Milan Innovation District (Mario Cucinella Architects)

Siemensstadt 2.0: Research and industry closely linked (Brain City Berlin)

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