6.4 Facilities for Active Occupants (V04) & Site Planning and Selection (V05)

6.4 Facilities for Active Occupants (V04) & Site Planning and Selection (V05)

Core Exam Takeaway: V05 Site Planning and Selection (4 pt / WELL Core 6 pt) is the Movement concept's largest optimization, and V04 Facilities for Active Occupants (3 pt / Core 5 pt) is second. Both offer a third-party index shortcut — Bike Score® ≥ 50 for V04, Walk Score® ≥ 70 and Transit Score® ≥ 70 for V05 — alongside detailed prescriptive alternatives. Memorize the three index thresholds and the 72 weekday / 30 weekend trips transit service test.

Why site selection is a health feature

The strongest determinant of whether a person walks or cycles daily is not motivation but the built environment within a quarter mile of their door. WELL's Movement concept therefore reaches beyond the building envelope into street network, transit service and commuting infrastructure — the interventions with the largest population-level effect on physical activity.

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Feature V04: Facilities for Active Occupants — Optimization (3 pt / WELL Core 5 pt)

Intent: foster active commuting through facilities that support cycling to the building, and support active occupants more broadly.

V04 Part 1 — Provide Cycling Infrastructure (2 pt / Core 3 pt)

For all spaces except dwelling units and retail spaces:

Option 1: Cycling network — one of:

• (a) The project is located in an area (zip or postal code) with a minimum Bike Score® of 50.
• (b) The project is within a 650 ft (200 m) walk distance of an existing cycling network that connects riders to at least 10 use types within a 3 mi (4.8 km) cycling distance of the project boundary (uses and restrictions per Appendix V1).
• (c) The project demonstrates existing plans for a cycling network meeting (a) or (b).

Option 2: Bike parking — both:

• (a) Bike parking in these quantities:
  1. Short-term bike parking (public bike rack) within a 100 ft (30 m) walk distance of a functional building entrance, accommodating at least 2.5% of peak visitors (minimum four spaces per building).
  2. Long-term bike parking (bike room) available within the project boundary, accommodating at least 5% of regular occupants, excluding occupants under eight years old (minimum four spaces per building).
• (b) Access to basic bike maintenance tools (bike pump, patch kit) co-located with long-term bike parking, or quarterly on-site bike maintenance services.

Space-type variations that are worth knowing:

Interiors allowance: interiors projects may count base building amenities toward feature requirements.

[!IMPORTANT] The dwelling-unit long-term figure is 30%, not 5%. Residents store bicycles where they live, so residential demand for secure long-term parking is an order of magnitude higher than office demand. This asymmetry is one of the most reliably tested numbers in the Movement concept.

[!TIP] Option 1 requires no construction whatsoever — a Bike Score® of 50 for the postal code earns the same points as building a bike room. Check the index first. Note also that Option 1(c) accepts existing plans for a network, which lets a project in a city with a funded cycling master plan claim credit before the lanes are built.

V04's shower, changing and locker component

V04's summary states its full scope: "bike storage along with showers, changing facilities and lockers, which support both active commuters and active occupants." Shower and changing provision is what converts a cycling commute from theoretically possible into practically repeatable — an employee who cannot change cannot cycle to a client-facing job. When answering scenario questions, remember that V04 is the feature that houses both the cycling infrastructure and the end-of-trip facilities; there is no separate "shower and changing amenities" feature in WELL v2, and V10 is Self-Monitoring, not showers.

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Feature V05: Site Planning and Selection — Optimization (4 pt / WELL Core 6 pt)

Intent: promote movement, physical activity and active living through site and nearby amenities that facilitate walkability and proximate access to public transportation.

V05 Part 1 — Select Sites with Pedestrian-friendly Streets (2 pt / Core 3 pt)

Option 1: Pedestrian-friendly streets. At least one functional building entrance opens to a pedestrian network — streets where pedestrians travel, featuring at minimum sidewalks — and one of:

• (a) The project is in an area (zip or postal code) with a minimum Walk Score® of 70.
• (b) The project is on a street with restricted vehicular traffic.
• (c) Within a 0.25 mi (400 m) walk distance of the boundary, 90% of the total street length has continuous sidewalks present on both sides, and two of the following:
  1. At least eight existing use types within a 0.25 mi (400 m) walk distance (uses and restrictions per Appendix V1).
  2. Speed limits of 25 mph (40 kmh) or less and buffer protections along sidewalks — curb extension, bioswales, bike lane, parked cars, benches, trees, planters.
  3. Street segments intersect one another (excluding alleys) at least every 260–330 ft (80–100 m).

Option 2: Pedestrian-friendly environment. All exterior building walls (excluding alleys) incorporate some combination of these elements on the street level façade — defined as the first floor or first 18 vertical ft (5.5 vertical m), whichever is less:

• (a) Windows or glazing providing transparency into the space
• (b) Overhangs such as canopies, awnings, eaves or shades
• (c) Murals or other artistic installations
• (d) Biophilic design elements (plants, water features, nature patterns, natural building materials)
• (e) Mixed building textures, colours and/or other design elements

V05 Part 2 — Select Sites with Access to Mass Transit (2 pt / Core 3 pt)

One of:

• (a) The project is in an area (zip or postal code) with a minimum Transit Score® of 70.
• (b) The project is within a 650 ft (200 m) walk distance of an existing bus network providing at least 72 weekday trips and 30 weekend trips.
• (c) The project is within a 0.25 mi (400 m) walk distance of existing bus rapid transit stops, light or heavy rail stations, commuter rail stations or ferry services providing at least 72 weekday trips and 30 weekend trips.

WELL Core guidance for both parts: whole building.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|            V05: THE THREE INDEX SHORTCUTS AND WHAT REPLACES THEM            |
|                                                                             |
|   V04 Part 1   Bike Score(R)     >= 50   OR  cycling network within 650 ft   |
|                                              (200 m) reaching 10 use types   |
|                                              within 3 mi (4.8 km)            |
|                                          OR  bike parking + maintenance      |
|                                                                             |
|   V05 Part 1   Walk Score(R)     >= 70   OR  restricted-traffic street       |
|                                          OR  90% sidewalk coverage + 2 of 3  |
|                                                                             |
|   V05 Part 2   Transit Score(R)  >= 70   OR  bus within 650 ft (200 m)       |
|                                          OR  rail/BRT/ferry within 0.25 mi   |
|                                              (400 m)                         |
|                                              -- both at >= 72 weekday and    |
|                                                 >= 30 weekend trips          |
|                                                                             |
|   50 / 70 / 70 -- the only three index numbers in the Movement concept.       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[!IMPORTANT] The bus radius is tighter than the rail radius: 650 ft (200 m) for bus networks versus 0.25 mi (400 m) for bus rapid transit, rail, commuter rail and ferry. Higher-capacity, higher-reliability modes justify a longer walk. Both routes require the same service level — at least 72 weekday trips and 30 weekend trips — which is what stops a single infrequent route from qualifying.

[!TIP] Option 2 of Part 1 is the retrofit path. A project that cannot change its Walk Score or its street network can still earn the pedestrian-friendly point by treating its street level façade — the first floor or first 18 vertical ft (5.5 m), whichever is less — with glazing, canopies, murals, biophilic elements or varied texture. The theory is that active, articulated frontages make walking feel safe and interesting, which is what actually determines whether people walk.

Where the Movement concept's twelve points come from

With a 12-point concept cap, a project cannot claim everything Movement offers (V03 3 + V04 3 + V05 4 + V06 2 + V07 2 + V08 2 + V09 1 + V10 1 = 18 points available for WELL Certification). The strategic reading: V05's 4 points and V04's 3 points are largely determined by site selection and are often free or unattainable, so establish those first, then buy the remaining points from the operational features — V06, V07, V09 and V10 — which respond to budget rather than geography.