Community design including factors such as physical layout; proximity and accessibility to goods, services, workplaces, and schools; and the materials and designs used in building and infrastructureaffects energy consumption and vehicle use, and thus greenhouse gas emissions. By addressing these factors through planning, application of smart growth principles, measures to reduce urban heat islands, and other initiatives, local and regional governments can encourage economic development while preserving their open spaces and critical environmental habitats, protecting water and air quality, and helping to mitigate climate change. Community planning and design programs generally act to reduce energy demand, as opposed to increasing energy efficiency. For example, by promoting mixed-use development and public transportation, communities can reduce the need for residents to drive a car for shopping, commuting to work, or getting to and from school. Similarly, measures to reduce the urban heat island effect, such as planting shade trees or installing cool roofs, reduce a communitys cooling energy requirements.The community planning and design guides in this series describe the process of developing and implementing strategies, using real-world examples, which apply the principles of smart growth or take steps to reduce the urban heat island effect.