Density-VMT Calculator Spreadsheet

What is this tool?

The purpose of this excel-based tool is to provide municipal governments with a rough forecasting instrument to estimate the impacts of proposed housing development on their communities.

The tool allows municipalities to gauge how residential development of varying densities may compare in terms of the amount of land area that will be consumed, the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) that will be added to the community and the water and infrastructure (roads and sidewalks) needs required by the proposed development.

How is community development related to greenhouse gas emissions?

Recent studies show a significant connection between community design and air pollution. Most notably, the phenomenon of sprawl contributes to increasing local and global emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
What’s happening in your town, is happening across America

American communities are increasingly consuming larger areas of land, and rates of land development have surpassed the nation’s population growth. The 2000 U.S. Census found that the majority of Americans now reside in urban areas, which are growing faster than urban or rural areas.

 

Download Link