Global energy use has risen due to increased demands and inefficient grids in developing countries. Energy saving is detrimental in countries in which their energy supply capacity is lower than their demand. Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) can easily be incorporated in new buildings; however, existing buildings have limitations in geometry, orientation, and materiality which restrict their applicability. This research analyses the efficiency of applying several EEMs in the residential stock in hot semi-arid regions to reduce their energy demand. A typical residential house in Duhok, Iraq was selected as a case study. The EMMs efficiency was analysed using building energy simulation. As heating and cooling loads have similar contributions to the house thermal demand -with 56% and 44% respectively, the potential energy reduction considered both loads simultaneously. The optimal combination of EEMs can reduce the thermal load by 48.7%, while individual passive measures can only reduce the thermal load up to 16%. In urban scale, the energy reduction potential presented in this paper would represent a shift from a heating-dominated scenario to a cooling-dominated one. This in turn would aid in decreasing the energy demand during winter months in which the largest energy shortages in the city are registered.

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The concept of sustainable urban design has appeared in different perspectives to minimize and reduce the negative impacts of urban expansion in terms of climatic and environmental drawbacks. One of the undeniable approaches of sustainable urban design is the adoption of green urban roofs. Green roofs are seen to have a substantial role in addressing and resolving environmental issues in the context of climate change. Research investigations have indicated that green roofs have a remarkable impact on decreasing rainwater runoff, reducing the heat island effect in urban spaces, and increasing biodiversity. Nevertheless, green roofs in urban spaces as a competent alternative to nature remains a standing question. To what extent can green roofs mimic the biodiversity that is seen in nature? Moreover, to what level is this approach practical for achieving a tangible reconnection with nature, or so-called biophilia? This study attempts to discuss the essence and impact of green roofs in urban spaces based on a case study approach. The study reflected lessons from the New York High Line Green Roof regarding biophilia and biodiversity in this case study. It concludes with key lessons that can be transferred to other urban spaces with similar settings.

The power shortage is one of the major problems in developing countries. Kurdistan Region of Iraq suffers from this issue, like other developing countries. Especially, after the economy crises that has started in 2014. However, all its efforts for tackling this challenge has been in providing more energy supply stations and more fuel provision. Few studies have been found in the region that seek the relation between the quality of buildings and energy consumption. It is questioned if the building sector in Kurdistan is well managed and environmentally sufficient to consume minimum amount of energy since it is the largest energy consuming sector. This research will seek an alternative to decrease the energy demand in buildings instead of expanding the energy sector. This could be achieved by evaluating the quality of building sector environmentally and improving it. Providing guidelines for building's thermal regulations, passive building design and increasing the energy efficiency of buildings by renewal means could be alternative strategies for lowering the energy consumption. Theoretical and numerical research approach have been taken in to account for finding the answer through a case study and comparative analysis. A variation of 21-29% of power consumption can be observed between buildings that have not considered energy efficiency criteria in their design and those who reflected them more in the design.