The idea of utilising natural ventilation for passive cooling has increasingly attracted the attention of researchers. In urban areas, this is intended to improve the outdoor and indoor thermal conditions without compromising the principles of sustainable building design. This study investigates the effect of building grouping pattern on the resulting wind environment in the outdoor spaces and the resulting ventilation potential of these buildings. A parametric three-dimensional modelling study has been carried out using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Several configurations of housing blocks exposed to different wind directions have been modelled and compared considering the hot climate of Gaza. It has been found that grouping pattern of buildings as well as their orientation with respect to wind has a dramatic effect on the resulting airflow behaviour and pressure fields. Configurations that contain a central space articulated by buildings and oriented towards the prevailing wind can offer better exposure to air currents and better containment of wind. Such configurations are recommended for better wind-driven ventilation, where the main design objective is passive cooling. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.