The climate change–built environment nexus is complex and intertwined. Recognizing the rising air temperatures and solar radiations owing to climate-induced global warming, it is critical to manage the increased building energy and cooling loads in the Middle East Gulf states’ hot desert climates (Bwh). One of the top climate priorities is to promote climate resilience by reducing risks and enhancing adaptation options. This study aims to systematically review the existing literature to document building energy performances in and the associated adaptation measures of the Middle East Gulf states, regarding the implications of climate change. It is accomplished by answering the following questions: ‘How well do we understand the effects of climate change on building energy use in hot urban deserts?’ and ‘What are the most appropriate adaptation strategies to reduce energy use in hot urban deserts?’. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis protocols (PRISMA), 17 studies on the influence of present and future weather scenarios on building performance are examined, considering variations in typology, methods, and input variables. Finally, the paper identifies the preferred methods and input variables for modelling building energy performance under predicted climatic changes. Passive design considerations are considered highly effective in mitigating and adapting to climate change implications. Thermal insulation and efficient window glazing are identified as the best-performing strategies, while the use of solar Photovoltaic (PV) is considered efficient in meeting the primary energy demands. The study’s findings can assist planners and designers in projecting future climatic influences on the energy usage of existing buildings.

Cities are paying more attention to building energy use and carbon footprint for attaining sustainability. Within this building sector, there is a growing attention toward development and adoption of energy efficient retrofit strategies. Plagued by the lack of efforts in achieving comprehensive energy efficient retrofit solution sets (passive, active, and renewable energy systems), the authors acknowledge the concept of NZEB toward achieving energy efficiency by 2050. Toward this end, a numerical energy simulation modeling is carried out to retrofit an existing French “Puccini house” using ‘passive, energy efficient building systems and renewable energy’ strategies toward an NZEB target in the Mediterranean climate of Nice. Using Design builder 7.0, the simulated baseline energy model (Case A) is retrofitted through variations in the proposed energy efficient retrofit measures using two case scenarios (Case B: passive retrofit; Case C: energy-efficient building) to achieve NZEB (Case D). Assessing the performance of energy efficient retrofits using % energy reduction, the implementation of a high-performance building envelope is achieved using a thermally insulated external wall (46.82%), upgraded airtightness (20.39%), thermally insulated pitched roof component (33.03%), and high-performance window type—a glazing system (3.35%) with maximized window-to-wall ratio (5.53%). The maximum energy-saving retrofit solutions provide an ambitious reduction in energy consumption by approximately 90% from the baseline. A deep retrofitting of the French house meets the NZEB targets, as it reduces the baseline energy consumption from 194.37 kWh/m²/year to 23.98 kWh/m²/year using both passive and active strategies. The remaining energy demand is met by the integration of on-site PV panels (EUI= −27.71 kWh/m²/year), which achieve an increase in energy production by 15.5%, while returning energy back to the grid (−3.73 kWh/m²/year). Findings of this study serve as a guideline for retrofitting traditional French single-family residences, while contributing toward the NZEB goal.

Smart cities are the solutions to unfathomable urban challenges. However, urban planners skepticize the existing smart cities for not addressing sustainable development through practices of resilience planning and livable transformations. At the embryonic stage, it is vital for cities of today to gain a more consistent understanding on how resilience, liveability, and sustainability can be co-created into the smart city planning model under a unified umbrella. In that respect, this research attempts to understand smart city development through the lens of sustainability, urban resilience and liveability using a systems approach, as cities evolve to achieve the descriptive goal of "Futuristic cities". Causal feedback loop diagrams were used to capture the dynamic interactions among multiple drivers within the urban context under the sustainability, resilience, and liveability models. The proposed feedback structures and interactions can help smart city planners and urban developers to transform the existing smart cities of today to a much aspiring futuristic cities we want.