District wastewater management systems provide collection, treatment and dispersal or reuse of wastewater from individual buildings or clusters of buildings near the location where the waste is generated. Studies indicate that more distributed methods of wastewater collection, which rely mostly on gravity-fed pipes, will have fewer negative environmental impacts than systems that expend large amounts of energy for conveyance.

According to the Active Living Research program from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, active living integrates physical activity into the daily routines of people — 30-60 minutes per day. To facilitate and support opportunities for active living, a focus on the built environment and good urban design is essential—including neighborhoods, transportation systems, buildings, street and sidewalk design, parks and open space.

District-scale “green” infrastructure helps preserve the local on-site water balance. They not only reduce the amount of stormwater available for runoff, but also the pollution from urban nonpoint sources that enter local streams. Neighborhood-scale stormwater management should begin with rainwater management at the site or individual property level and then scale up to the watershed level.

District energy systems provide an energy-efficient and cost-effective option for heating and cooling many buildings in a given locale, from a central plant. They use a network of underground pipes to pump steam, hot water, and/or chilled water to multiple buildings in an area such as a downtown district, college or hospital campus, airport or military base.