Planning new sustainable neighborhoods is essential to achieve environmentally friendly, economically vibrant, culturally meaningful cities. Building new communities that are physically and socially sustainable is a challenge when resolving the city"s housing crisis and avoiding problems. These new communities that are physically and socially sustainable to resolve the communities" housing and environmental degradation , problems of poverty,and insecurity. Moreover, there are other challenges for planning the sustainable neighborhoods. Sustainable urban planning plays an important role in achieving sustainable growth and development by integrating sustainable development principles in urban planning strategies.However, sustainable urban development of neighborhoods is important to achieve the goals of environmental improvements through the development of land use, transportation, housing, energy efficiency, economic development, and public health. Based on the literature review ,the environmental aspects of urban development strategies are deduced to help neighborhoods achieve the sustainable goals studied. Then by analyzing international and local case studies the paper concludes guidelines to be applied in planning sustainable neighborhoods. Finally, the design guidelines for sustainable neighborhood planning are deduced and applied on Alex west an existing residential neighborhood in Alexandria, some of the guidelines are applied in the chosen neighborhood.

Background: Earth's temperature has been rising since 1900, and the annual temperature has increased from 20°C to 24°C on the Mediterranean coastline. The external climate directly relates to indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and building performance, particularly in educational buildings. This paper proposes smart adaptive building envelopes (SABEs) as a potential solution for resilient architecture which is prone to unexpected weather patterns posed by climate change. Methods: A multi-dimensional criterion methodology is employed based on Egypt’s local climate, using SABEs to provide thermal comfort and natural daylight using minimum energy. The paper's novelty is in using a comparative methodology that is complemented with a software simulation (OpenStudio 3.0.1) to address the existing educational building design challenges in providing IEQ, and to assess the proposed SABE design’s performance, whilst providing better indoor thermal comfort and daylight. Results: The results show that the application of SABEs has led to significant reduction of the energy consumed, by 7.62% in summer and 5.42% in winter Conclusions: The implications of SABEs on IEQ in terms of thermal comfort and daylight are significant. SABEs also reduce energy consumption.

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Background: Bioclimatic design is an approach based on local climate which improves thermal qualities and indoor comfort. Buildings follow this process to minimize negative effects on the environment. However, this approach is still not suitable in developed countries. This study aims to investigate Mediterranean local bioclimatic strategies’ impact on thermal comfort efficiency in housing, by examining architectural elements and treatments. Methods: We adopted a descriptive, analytical, and comparative methodology, complemented with a software simulation, within a qualitative and quantitative approach. Investigation and methodological tools were based on technical information including plans, elevations, photos, and documentation. The approach consisted of multiple stages: a literature review interpreting the concept of bioclimatic design, as well as thermal comfort variables and common Mediterranean building features. Moreover, the paper showcases three examples of successful Mediterranean passive houses. Furthermore, the paper presents a case- studyhouse in Alex West, Alexandria, designed in the Mediterranean Revival style. Results: The results showed that the most influencing building features on thermal comfort were the low-pitched roofs and the top chimney, which achieved 12.6% and 5% improvement in the summer and 13% and 6.8% in winter, respectively. The pergola and porch elements barely had an effect when placed on the northern façade. However, on the southern façade, a positive contribution in the summer by 1.4% and 3.4% respectively were reported, but a slight negative impact in winter by 0.5% and 2% respectively. Conclusions:  We examined the impact of common Mediterranean building features , and compared thermal comfort results between case-study houses. Features focusing on passive design for cooling rather than heating, allowing wind flow for maximized natural ventilation, using ventilated pitched roof spaces, using sun shading elements in the proper facades and angles, help passive thermal regulation. The study proposes recommendations for optimizing thermal comfort in residential buildings in Alexandria, Egypt.

With the obvious substitution of the natural environment with the artificial environment and the inevitable solar heat gain in the Mediterranean climate, energy-efficient facades must be considered in buildings. This paper explores Cellular Automata (CA) as a strategy for retrofitting existing façades with green integrated shading systems optimized for south-oriented office space in the Mediterranean Climate of Alexandria. It is considered a contribution to optimizing daylighting performance and creating a more pleasant indoor environment. The main novelty of this paper is the attempt to use the generative design approach to implement a membrane over existing facades with integrated vertical greens. The paper analyzes the daylight simulations of the studied space using Diva-for-Rhino to pinpoint the best locations for green surface utilization. Then various Cellular Automata patterns are evaluated to select the possible rules for applying the green integrated shading systems. The designed façade performance is then analyzed through the suggested criteria. To explain the positive impact of the retrofitting, a comparative analysis of the findings is concluded together. To conclude this approach can be employed as a tool by interior designers to enhance indoor quality and the visual impact of the interior space.