Cities worldwide are facing challenges from rapid urbanization and climate change, making them susceptible to increased likelihood of flooding, due to rising sea levels and extreme weather. To mitigate the risk and minimize the impacts of natural and human-made disruptions caused by climate change, smart cities are improving their energy resiliency through modernization efforts to transform the power grid into smart grids. Similarly, universities are also developing sustainable energy systems that will address the impacts of climate change by using renewable energy sources and improving the energy efficiency on campus to reduce the carbon footprint. The motivation for this research is to use a holistic systems thinking approach to evaluate the key phenomena associated with the sustainable energy system. This study developed a methodology with modeling and visualization techniques to address the underlying climate change phenomenon through sustainable energy awareness in a university modeled as a smart city. The research contributes to the body of knowledge through visualization of the problem to better understand the complexity of the energy system and to communicate the importance of sustainable energy systems in universities and smart cities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]