The growing complexity in environmental degradation requires a serious action for adopting sustainable initiatives in the different institutions design and operation. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), is the most widely used green building rating system in the world that helps institutions to evaluate their current sustainable performance, and provides a concise guidance for identifying and implementing practical and measurable solutions. One of the important challenges to achieve sustainability, especially in hot dry climate region, such as Jeddah city, KSA, is the urban heat island effect that contributes to energy consumption. Effat University, Jeddah is striving towards convoying the sustainable trends in developing and designing its campus, in the light of Saudi 2030 vision, which targets reducing energy consumption. This research contributes to the knowledge of rating sustainability through measuring the level of sustainability at Effat University Campus with reference to the LEED v4 rating system (Operation and Maintenance). The research focuses on site selection category, Heat Island Reduction Credit, Option 1 Non-roof Surfaces. This was carried on through quantitative methodology that based on surveying the university campus landscape elements and materials, and interviewing maintenance key persons. The results of this research would potentially help Effat University to improve the campus environmental and energy performance through recommending a set of evidence-driven actions that can help in reducing heat island effect and enhance the efficiency of the university landscape sitting and material. This would also help in moving Effat University one-step forward to develop a green campus and being LEED Certified.

With a population that doubled in the past 10 years, in addition to the consumption of land through neighborhoods in the form of leapfrog sprawl, Muscat, the capital of Oman, faces a challenge of the management and provision of services within the existing neighborhoods. With limited infrastructure including street and electricity, these neighbourhoods have lack of public space as a common urban deficiency. Hence the research aims to understand the potential of localizing the urban deficiency solutions through practical means of participatory approach. Accordingly, initial outline of existing public space participatory engagements are considered, followed by analysis of the role and contributions of the community towards development projects, and finally assesment and guideline of lessons learned from the independent public spaces a series of negotiation initiatives are presented. The research builds on an earlier study where two neighborhoods were analyzed in terms of public spaces and communal qualities. From this point, we develop a framework outlining the research project, actions list, and funds. Through an incremental series of actions, progress of the project took a community-oriented line of development. Thus, we found a participatory approach for the localization of public spaces within neighborhoods in Muscat.

The Green Building Concept (GBC), has become a topical issue and is receiving global attention as a potential solution to numerous adverse effects of construction activity both climatically and environmentally. Globally, the construction industry alone consumes 50% of all resources, 45% of all Energy and adds to 35% of CO2 emissions. Several developed countries has embraced the GBC as the most formidable solution to the preservation of their natural resources and cutting down on the negative impacts of construction on the climate and environment. However, uptake of the concept in the Ghana Construction industry is very minimal and not at the desired rate with only four (4) certified green buildings. This creates a fragile environment which undermines Ghana’s efforts at realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A critical review of literature is conducted exploring the implementation of the GBC in Ghana. Through discussions, the research established the present status of the practice in Ghana as well as the drivers responsible for this current state. The implications of these drivers in the Ghana construction industry are discussed as well. For an increased uptake of the concept in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), key measures to ensure rapid uptake are recommended to include; a national education, awareness and publicity campaign, the imposition of mandatory government regulations and policies and the provision of financial and market-based incentives amongst others.

Several studies discussed attitudes towards migrants; some of the issues pointed out are integration that requires interaction between migrants and the host society. Homogenous social groupings produce stronger communities. As the conflict in Syria entered its fifth year, Jordan hosted about 1.4 million registered Syrians, of whom 646,700 are informal refugees. Eighty-five percent of the refugees live outside camps in some of the poorest areas of Jordan. Consequently, new household’s typologies pressured the supply side. Such non-camp refugees’ migration patterns and housing market conditions formed ethnic homogeneous enclaves in different locations in Amman. Accordingly, non-camp refugees occupied and rented the upper floors of mixed used commercial buildings in downtown Amman. The present study investigated social acceptance of Syrian migrants residing in upper floors of commercial mixed used buildings located in the city center of Amman. The primary purpose of this research is to study how social acceptance of Syrian migrants is influenced by social gating. The hypothesis of the present study states that social acceptance of Syrian migrants in downtown Amman is influenced by sense of merchants’ sense of social gating. The significance of the study stems from that the development of downtown Amman with such rich social context can be informative and useful for strategic planners, local governments, NGO’s, social workers, and psychologists. This paper offers such an opportunity to reflect on an unfolding crisis that is of major social concern with changing urban demographics. The study was conducted using a quantitative and qualitative research strategy; an embedded research design was used. The quantitative method was conducted using a survey with downtown merchants, in addition to supportive qualitative methods of face-to-face interviews. The study was conducted in the central part of Amman, known locally as Wast Al-balad, which is considered the old commercial area that dates back to the second quarter of the twentieth century. Some of these secondary residential units became spaces (enclaves) for migrants that formed ethnic low-income enclaves. In the last five years, low-income Syrian migrants started to rent these units in Amman’s urban center. Outcomes indicated that social cohesion is the strongest motivator for acceptance of outsiders by the local merchants to reside in the upper floors of the commercial buildings of Downtown Amman area.

Urban areas have been identified as one of the key challenges to tackle in the next decades. Most of the environmental impacts associated to urban contexts are linked to an unsustainable use of resources basically due to urban planning and society’s consumption behaviour. Currently, the paradigm of sustainable cities brought out in the past years situates urban contexts as an opportunity to reduce these impacts. There is a wide range of strategies focused on cities and their transition to a more sustainable urban model: compactness, sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, waste management and greening are some of the most relevant approaches with clear indicators and implementation plans. However, rural areas are still pending for a precise strategy that highlights their ecological added value avoiding to be defined only as “not urban”. Rural areas should be emphasized from their productivity perspective and their key role in terms of resilience and adaptation to Climate Change. In the framework of the Interreg Med Programme, Thematic Communities are working on the capitalisation of projects from different kind of approaches of application in the Mediterranean Area. Four of these communities - Renewable Energy, Green Growth, Sustainable Tourism and Efficient Buildings - have several projects that present rural areas as one common territory of intervention. The aim of this paper is to expose the standards and goals proposed by the Interreg Med Thematic Communities for Rural Areas Revitalization as a resilience strategy in the Mediterranean Region, using a cross-cutting approach. The cross-cutting approach stresses the relation among the environment, society and economy: rural liveability, increasing RES production with sharing microgrid systems & efficient buildings, as well as green economy based on sectors such as agricultural & tourism activities. These standards and results will provide reference values to shape final policies recommendations. Consequently, the present paper is based on the joint cross-thematic effort and work from four thematic communities of the Interreg MED programme, previously mentioned. It includes some references to existing research studies, but the aim is to open the path to identify new challenges of Mediterranean rural areas and find potential solutions from a holistic approach.

Saudi Arabia has increased the prices of fuel in January 2018. The increase was unprecedented and range from 82% to 126 %.Travel behavior patterns and socio-economic characteristics are unique in Saudi Arabia. High car dependency is notable in all main Saudi cities. This study attempts to analyze the effect of fuel prices increase on travel behavior change in the city of Jeddah, second largest city in Saudi Arbia. A household survey was conducted to collect travel patterns of Jeddah city population, before and after the increase of the fuel prices. Results indicate a significant effect of fuel prices increase on travel behavior in Jeddah. Further studies to explore other effects of fuel prices increase on travel behavior in Jeddah are important in both short run and long run.

City branding has become one of the primary policies for achieving sustainability in many countries. In this manner, many strategies can be applied to create place and city urban branding. One of these strategies is the culture-based urban branding. Culture plays a significant role in place and city urban branding; cultural branding can be considered an essential approach for the economic, social and environmental renewal of cities. City branding has become gradually important according to its bases and activities in the urban development process in general. This paper describes how culture can be used in city branding. The research applies the significance of urban cultural branding to analyse the case study of Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

In fast-growing cities, the dependence on groundwater has been increased for household requirements and irrigation with the onset of the Green Revolution. This depends on the intensive use of inputs such as groundwater to boost farm production and to take care of population requirements. Private groundwater extraction for farming and drinking as well has been facilitated by policymakers in developing countries. Under exhaustive extraction of groundwater, falling groundwater tables may demand to explore precise groundwater investigation techniques. An instrument developed based on Light Interference technique (LIT) viz. NaAvmeter was proposed in the present study to explore the groundwater in less expenses and with precise measurement. This study investigated successfully a possibility of borewell location using NaAvmeter for irrigation and drinking purpose. The use of NaAvmeter exhibits encouraging results for identifying exact borewell location.

Smart cities are boosting sustainability. It is an urgent and global trend. The study addressed the Smart Sustainable Cities (SSCs) considering the recent local and global constraints. It focused on the Egyptian context as a scope because of the absence of this trend in it, despite its potential opportunities. The paper was divided into two sections; the first was a theoretical approach to the SSCs definitions and concepts. It also framed the SSCs skeleton. Then, the SSCs planning and management’s guidance followed this approach. Moreover, the paper pointed out to some experiences in the developing countries and the Arabic context. The second section was the applied study. It aimed to develop a road-map about embarking the SSCs in the Egyptian scope, as a step to transfer the vision to reality. Then, it identified the local challenges and opportunities, followed by the key pillars needed for that transformation. Finally, the paper extracted the actions required to transforming the Egyptian cities to be smart and sustainable in the reality.

Smart cities are boosting sustainability. It is an urgent and global trend. The study addressed the Smart Sustainable Cities (SSCs) considering the recent local and global constraints. It focused on the Egyptian context as a scope because of the absence of this trend in it, despite its potential opportunities. The paper was divided into two sections; the first was a theoretical approach to the SSCs definitions and concepts. It also framed the SSCs skeleton. Then, the SSCs planning and management’s guidance followed this approach. Moreover, the paper pointed out to some experiences in the developing countries and the Arabic context. The second section was the applied study. It aimed to develop a road-map about embarking the SSCs in the Egyptian scope, as a step to transfer the vision to reality. Then, it identified the local challenges and opportunities, followed by the key pillars needed for that transformation. Finally, the paper extracted the actions required to transforming the Egyptian cities to be smart and sustainable in the reality.

This article discloses a domestic system that allows greater energy efficiency in a home located in Mexico City, which facilitates its contribution to a green urbanism by installing it in the buildings of the City. The system was designed and built using a solar heater (CalGen) that was installed in a house with four people. Aluminum cans were used in the CalGen as vacuum tubes, the water heated in the cans was used in the shower, in addition the CalGen structure were placed photoelectric cells, which were controlled by an Arduino Uno, in order to increase the efficiency of the solar radiation. The water heated by the CalGen helps to reduce the emissions 3.6 kiolograms (kg) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per day, since before installing the system the house used principally liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to heat the water. The water circulating inside the aluminum cans is heated by solar radiation, leaving the water at an average temperature of 37.71°C. The eight photoelectric cells generate 240 watts per day (W/day). The electricity generated by the photoelectric cells is stored in rechargeable batteries. The methodology of the tests and construction of CalGen is shown, as well as the changes that were made from the tests. There is also a cost-benefit study that CalGen had in housing. It should promote the design of cities where the environment of the quality of life of human beings is healthier and more sustainable, given that the space of cities is being increasingly demanded. Green buildings should not be an optional trend, but a fundamental requirement, taking advantage of and adapting existing spaces more effectively.

Environmental lighting and acoustics is highly compromised in developing countries such as the Philippines. In urban centers such as the City of Manila, the night time population which compromises mostly the younger generation experience difficulty in mobility. Furthermore the exposure to too much noise may render the population indifferent to their surroundings. España Boulevard is a main thoroughfare connecting the city of Manila’s University Belt to the eastern metropolis. The study focuses on examining the current situation of pedestrian infrastructure in the City of Manila where community and pedestrian wellbeing should be a primordial concern in one of the densest cities in the world. Universal design is a basic consideration to support the pressing need for safety and mobility of residents and transients travelling to and from the City of Manila. This initiative is in consonance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Number 3 on Good Health and Wellbeing as a part of the third UN’s SDGs of 2015-2030. This serves as a foundation for programs and projects that concern the general public, specifically pedestrians and communities. A foot-survey was conducted using downloadable apps on lighting and sound intensity to assess whether they are in compliance with prescribed international standards. Photomontage on urban design proposals are presented as possible imagery of green urbanism solutions in attaining ideal metrics for both environmental lighting and acoustics.

In the framework of achieving advanced (sophisticated) light shelf system for deep office spaces in south in hot, arid zones, this study is based on the use of the parametric design approach in creating and investigating various combinations of the main design parameters of light shelf systems, in order to determine the design indicators and the key design elements that can help in developing and optimizing the performance of such daylight systems. Therefore a “819” study cases were created and tested in the previous phase of this study, as well as a “16” study cases have been tested in this study that produced from one hypothetical optimized parametric study case which was established by integrate the main design features of the best two case studies in the results of the previous study phase, in term of daylighting and energy consumption performance. This study has identified several basic designs and considerations for developing and optimizing the light shelf systems, in addition to the invention of two sophisticated design cases for deep office spaces with different ceiling heights (3.30 & 3.80 m.) in south in hot, arid zones (New Cairo area).