The primary objectives of this research are to identify the relation between Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria regarding sustainable site credits and the appraised value of land parcels in the City of Houston, and additionally to analyze the effects of detail components which leverage the sustainable credits regarding the Public Transportation Access (PTA) in terms of economic issues. To accomplish these objectives, the approach to estimate sustainable ratings of specific parcels using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was established. Green construction must be one of the most powerful trends in the construction industry. One of the main concepts to underlie the basis of this green construction is sustainability. This sustainability has to be considered in the process of the site selection prior to the actual activities to construct a building. Recently, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has suggested the modified guideline with "LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations". According to this metric, it is clear that this principle endeavors to block environmental abuses related to land development or restoration projects. On the other hand, it is not easy to check the serviceability of these rules to guarantee continuous economic merit through sustainable land development or restoration encouraged by these criteria. The criteria regarding the sustainable site selection in this LEED metric are Sustainable Site Credit (SSC) #1: Site Selection, SSC #3: Brownfield, and SSC #4.1: Public Transportation Access. Linear regression methods were used for predictive analysis. In this model, the unit appraisal value of the land was used as the dependent variable to reflect the economic values of the land, and LEED-sustainable-site criteria were used as the categorical independent variables. According to statistical results, the models to predict the appraisal parcel value using sustainable site components have relatively low R-square. Moreover, SSC #1 and SSC #3 were not significant factors affecting the unit value of land. This outcome means that there are no statistically significant effects of SSC #1 and SSC #3 on parcel value. On the other hand, SSC #4.1 was highly significant. Furthermore, the detail components of SSC #4.1 regarding the bus stops and railroad stations were also significant. These results can lead to improved environmental preservation by avoiding development which is far from the PTA as well as increasing economic value while enhancing the development density near the PTA corridors. Finally, GIS was used to determine the LEED ratings of individual parcels. The methods established to do this can be applied to other projects for the other regions, or the same region at different times.

Applied ecology has been used to design communities around the world; however suburban neighborhoods in west central Florida do not usually utilize existing or potential ecological function as a modeling parameter or success measure. Since the end of the great depression, developments in the Tampa Bay Area have displaced many wetland and upland natural communities. Private ownership and development of sensitive natural lands have restricted their use and hampered the functional longevity of important ecological systems in this area. These displaced areas have historically functioned as habitat for many types of animal life, have passively conveyed nutrient loads, and have facilitated the succession of organisms. They have also been used as recreational opportunities for local residents and visitors, children and adults. Applied ecological design usually occurs at a community or master plan scale, or separately at a singular building level, but rarely both simultaneously. This design proposal was the investigation and formation of an ecocentric architectural design methodology for coastal environments; from master plan to conceptual building design. The scope was the synthesis of a recreational tourism facility with the existing ecological communities of Rattlesnake Key, a barrier island in northwest Manatee County, Florida. The program included an ecological education center, where visitors could learn about their relationship with the ecological communities present on the island, and a group of cabins, where inhabitants could interact with each other and the surrounding natural communities intimately. Master planning strategies were outlined using extensive ecological mapping overlays, in-field observation, and feasibility analysis. Building forms, means of construction, and structural systems were created by integrating biomimicry methods, habitat restoration techniques, and sustainable practices into a programmed, built environment. The results of the investigation were a series of physical models and graphic representations of spaces that manifest the sensitive relationship between human inhabitance and ecological function; where both processes coexist and support the longevity and persistence of one another through habitat creation. By analyzing the existing ecological functions present on a site, a designer could propose a typology that strengthens the relationship between man and his environment; where development is no longer displacement.