Abstract A basic aim of low energy architecture is to create a thermally comfortable internal environment for building occupants whilst consuming the least possible amount of energy. In desert countries this aim is more difficult to achieve since high ambient air temperatures create a barrier to comfort. Traditional building types of these countries, such as courtyard building, have evolved t...

contentious issue of the state–market interactions in Africa’s development agenda and processes, particularly since 1960s independence era. At heart this debate has been contestation over agency for development. The global wave democratisation that swept through most parts developing world late 1980s early 1990s revived on linkage between democracy, sustainable development, state capacity Afric...