**6. Conclusions**

Recently, and as part of the future vision, there is a strong trend toward passive design as an effective part in sustainable design. This is a result of real consciousness in limited resources, global warning and pollution problems, where sustainability is the only solution for sustaining our very future in the world. In line with this context, this study aimed to explore and improve a neighborhood in Dubai, UAE toward a more livable, sustainable community.

The Al Waha community in Dubai was selected for the analysis, and three scenarios were adopted for developing and obtaining more sustainable community. Analysis of the community covered two of the sustainable urban design dimensions (1) livability and (2) thermal and environmental performance. Livability analysis of the existing case study showed some clear weaknesses in land use diversity, accessibility, walkability, landscaped area and building design diversity. These weaknesses were covered in the adopted scenarios, through analyses using the two software packages, CityCAD and IES-VE, and the LEED (ND) checklist, showing clear improvements in all mentioned parameters. Community improvement strategy and adopted scenarios covered a number of urban design parameters including; (1) land use diversity, (2) accessibility, (3) walkability, (4) open public area and green spaces, and (5) building height and design variety, which directly affected environmental or thermal performance parameters covering solar gains and air temperatures. The effects of the adopted scenarios (with modified computer models) on solar gains and thermal performances have been studied and analyzed using the IES-VE applications SunCast and ApacheSim—Vista Pro. The results showed that the livability level of the community was increased by enhancing the land use diversity, accessibility, walkability, building height diversity and the green areas. The aspect of building density has played a key role in the analysed context to help the community livability. Furthermore, the effect of the adopted scenarios to enhance the community livability showed a clear and positive effect on environmental and thermal performance by increasing the shading effect and reducing indoor solar gains and air temperatures. Finally, the modified community that integrated in the three adopted scenarios have been evaluated using the LEED Neighborhood and Developments (ND) assessment tool v4, and the community was able to be certified as a "Sustainable Green Community" through implementing all of the applicable practices.

**Author Contributions:** S.S. and H.A. conceived and designed the concept and the paper outline; S.S. conducted the analyses and wrote the paper; and H.A. supervised, provided direction, sources, comments, and major edits to the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **Appendix A. LEED Neighborhood & Development, (ND) V4 Checklist**


