Till Vallée1, Guillaume de Morsier2, Valentin Kuník2, Simon Fecht1 1: Fraunhofer IFAM, Bremen, Germany 2: College of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland Design Tools for Sustainable Social Housing Development in Fast-growing Southern Mediterranean Cities Abstract: Many Mediterranean cities are currently seeing a rapid growth of their population. As a result, the need for affordable social housing is increasing. However, new housing developments are unable to meet this demand. Furthermore, because of poor quality construction, irrational usage of energy, and non-contextual planning, these new developments have a strong negative impact on the environment, the urban climate, and interior comfort. The present research examines robust construction techniques in search of simple, elementary techniques, structural elements, and architectural principles that can be implemented; the focus having been set herein on the agglomeration of Algiers, Algeria. From an extensive study of building heritage, we propose constructions adapted not only to the socio-economic context, but also to local physical and climatological constrains, and that fits in with local customs, habits, and tradition. This working process links traditional construction techniques with the latest technologies in order to develop low-tech and affordable solutions which can be implemented in large-scale real estate developments, in the context of rapid population growth and economic hardship. The outcome of this research is a range of design tools covering a broad array of scales, from urban systems to construction details and construction materials.  At a larger scale, urban climate, public spaces, and the energy needs of buildings are improved by optimizing the built volumes, among other in terms of orientation to the sun and major wind directions.  Within building blocks, typologies are rooted within the local housing history and merged with strong principles of natural ventilation, cooling, and humidity control.  In terms of construction, integrative solutions using excavation earth combined with different natural aggregates strongly improve thermal properties of buildings and dramatically reduce carbon emissions. This research offers a combination of low- and high-tech adaptive design tools that allow building economical and more comfortable social housing, while reducing the environmental impact and maintaining tradition and history.