Cities around the world increasingly recognize the need to build on their resilience to deal with converging forces such as disasters, environmental degradation, urban sprawl, and climate change. Given the significance of critical infrastructure networks (CINs) for maintaining the quality of life in buildings and communities, improving their resilience is of high importance to governors, planners, and policymakers. Therefore, this study is proposed to spatially analyze the resilience of CINs in Saudi Arabia and to develop a holistic resilience framework for buildings and communities. The research method of this study involves a case study of Najran, including a collection of CIN data, history of natural disasters, and future potential hazards. The data were compiled to list the basic parameters required for the development of resilience criteria. Overall results show that CINs in the city of Najran were performing below average compared with the measurement criteria. The study highlights the need to make improvements in terms of the robustness, redundancy, and flexibility of the CINs in the city. Moreover, this paper proposes a holistic framework of key aspects of resilient criteria that need to be taken into account by the city governor, policymakers, and developer bodies for better management of available infrastructure and its development in future years.

Due to their simple synthesis method and excellent properties, such as superior adsorption and regeneration capabilities, with a large surface area and tunable pores, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a suitable option for wastewater treatment. Although an exponential growth in MOF literature has been observed in recent years, conducting a quantitative literature analysis of MOF application in wastewater treatment is a novelty. To fill this gap, a total of 1187 relevant publications were extracted from the Web of Science, published during the last 50 years, and analyzed using bibliometric and content analysis techniques. A bibliometric analysis was conducted to reveal growing publication trends, leading journals, prolific countries, and organizations; whereas, a content analysis was used to highlight key research themes and hot topics in this field. The analyses revealed that there is a strong international collaboration among authors, countries, and organizations. Chemical Engineering Journal, Journal of Hazardous Materials, and Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering are the most prolific journals in this field. Furthermore, the use of MOFs for removing antibiotics from wastewater was identified as a recent hot topic. In addition, performance enhancements of MOFs, in terms of a higher adsorption capacity and water stability, were identified as topics of great interest. To cater to these issues, the application of graphene, graphene oxides, nanoparticles, and quantum dots was also observed in the research fronts in this field.

Polyaniline (PANI), which is a member of the family of electrically conducting polymers, has been widely discussed as a potential membrane for wastewater treatment. Although a steady growth in PANI literature was observed, analyzing PANI literature quantitatively is still a novelty. The main aim of this study is to unearth the current research status, global trends, and evolution of PANI membranes literature and their use in water treatment applications over time. For this purpose, a scientometric study was performed consisting of bibliometric and bibliographic analysis. A total of 613 entities were extracted from Web of Science published during the last 50 years and were analyzed to map trends based on leading peer-reviewed journals, publication records, leading research disciplines, countries, and organizations. The study shows that the number of annual publications increased exponentially from 2005 to 2020 and is expected to keep increasing in the current decade. The Journal of Membrane Science published the highest number of articles and was identified as the most-cited journal in the field. China, India, and the USA were observed as the top three research hubs. The top-ranked authors in the field were Wang, Jixiao, and Wang, Zhi. To find research trends, four different clusters of keywords were generated and analyzed. The top five most frequent keywords turn out to be polyaniline, water, performance, membranes, and nanoparticles. The analysis suggests that the application of nanotechnology for modifying PANI membranes (using nanoparticles, nanotubes, and graphene specifically) is the future of this field. This study elucidates the research streamline of the field that may serve as a quick reference for early career researchers and industries exploring this field.

This paper investigates the strategies and priorities to identify the critical indicators for the protection of the environment and ecosystem in the mountain regions of southwest Saudi Arabia, considering the natural resources, renewable energy potential, local economy, urban development issues, and compatibility with the Saudi Vision 2030. The southern region of the country is characterized as having cooler climatic conditions than the other regions of Saudi Arabia and is rich in natural resources and renewable energy potential. It also has potential in the sectors of agriculture, forests, and animal production, and the region’s heritage is valuable for its tourism industry. During the past years, the region is experiencing a misbalance in its resources and population due to a quick increase in urban development. It is seen that there has been no strategy in place for the management of development. Hence, it is important to establish a framework designed to manage urban planning and sprawl that considers the topographical conditions, wildlife and forest protection, and investment in natural and renewable resources. This study employs a focus group approach to investigate these issues. Different expert panels were invited to Al-Baha University in December 2019 to discuss the sustainable development priorities of Saudi Arabia’s southern regions. These included decision-makers from governmental sectors, and academics from the university’s faculties of engineering, economics, sciences, and social sciences. The study highlights the issues of urban sprawl management in cities that impact the environmental conditions and wildlife habitat, concluding that the agriculture and tourism industries are the most important factors that should be targeted by developers in the southwestern regions of the country.