The research paper discusses the sustainable planning and design principles in investment residential complexes in Iraq, especially the five principles of Un-habitat. The research problem emerged in the lack of knowledge and local studies in Iraq about sustainable approaches to investment residential complexes at the planning and design level.

The current research aims to shed light on the application of the five principles of UN-habitat to residential complexes, and the obstacles and It proposes treatments to achieve integrated environmental sustainability for residential investment complexes. The main hypothesis that applying the five principles of UN-habitat has an important impact on assessing the extent of sustainability of residential investment complexes.

The current research focuses on environmental sustainability of the proposed new residential investment projects in Baghdad [Iraq Gate Residential Complex (high rise residential) and Badour Residential Complex (low rise residential)]. Indicators were extracted from previous literature and selected samples, and the research investigated the extent to which these indicators converge with the five principles of Un-habitat adopted. The results indicated that each of the two complexes achieved only one of the five principles, which requires highlighting the importance of applying the concepts of sustainable development in residential investment complexes in Iraq.