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This study examines the influence of the various attributes of smart tourism technologies (STTs) on tourists' intentions to revisit locations and engage in word-of-mouth (WOM) activities regarding emerging and smart rural tourist destinations in Iran. A sample of 590 tourists who visited these destinations following the COVID-19 pandemic participated in the study. The findings reveal that three attributes of STTs, namely, informativeness, accessibility, and interactivity, positively contribute to tourists' memorable experiences (ME). Furthermore, ME, satisfaction, and the willingness to engage in WOM recommendations are identified as predictors of tourists' intention to revisit rural destinations. The study also reveals that user competence serves as a mediator between the attributes of STTs (informativeness, accessibility, and interactivity) and the tourists' ME. Specifically, tourists with greater skills and knowledge of using STTs tend to have more memorable experiences in these emerging and smart rural destinations. The study discusses both the theoretical and practical implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transboundary Trade Corridors (TTC) are becoming increasingly important for achieving national, regional, and global development objectives. However, the cross-boundary nature of these projects involves dealing with diverse contexts that span across different countries and involve multiple stakeholders with varying interests. These circumstances exacerbate the risks and uncertainties that arise during their implementation, intensifying the challenges involved in making decisions about how to proceed with their execution. Insufficient evaluations of development projects have been identified as a contributing factor to unforeseen risks, which in turn can result in the underperformance and failure of transportation infrastructure projects. This ultimately acts as an impediment to achieving sustainable development goals. Further, rapid deployment of post risk-event corrective measures can exacerbate, for instance, macro-economic crisis and civil unrest. The Great Equatorial Land Bridge is a TTC planned to traverse five countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, South-Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Despite the anticipated advantages for globalization, political cooperation, and regional integration, the risks that must be addressed to successfully implement this project are still uncertain. We, therefore, use a Multicriteria Decision-Making (MCDM) framework to investigate risks to its successful implementation. The analysis results highlight that effectively managing economic, political, and geographic risks is crucial for the successful implementation of the project. Policy-makers, contractors and multiple stakeholders will benefit from this study's depiction of the risks and their relative importance. Results can also inform actions toward sustainable development of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformational resilience is at the forefront of academic and policy initiatives on sustainable development, climate adaptation, and disaster risk reduction as a result of successive and complex changes in global dynamics. While the literature on transformative resilience is growing, there is no comprehensive analysis of its trends and development. This paper aims to close this knowledge gap by presenting a multifaceted bibliometric overview of transformative resilience literature, revealing its trends, focus areas, transitions, and intellectual foundations. This is based on 415 Web of Science-indexed articles published between 1996 and 2021. According to the findings, the concept has developed primarily around four key presentive domains: vulnerability and climate change adaptation, urban and regional disaster resilience, sustainability management and institutional transformation, and COVID-19. While priorities and subjects of research have evolved over time, key concepts such as resilience, adaptation, and climate change have recurred. Influential authors and documents from three interrelated resilience schools, including sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction, have shaped the field's intellectual foundations. We contend that a greater variety of contexts is required to facilitate transformative resilience's investigation, description, and experimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disturbances in the work of hundreds of millions of people around the world. One of the groups affected is the academic staff at higher education institutions, whose original business model, i.e., presence teaching, suddenly changed to online learning. This has, in turn, exacerbated pre-existing problems such as shortage of time, busy schedules, and challenges to a work-life balance. Since academic staff plays a key role in respect of teaching and research, often acting as leaders in their fields, it is important to reflect on the influences of the lockdowns on their work routines. In order to address this research need, this paper reports on a study that examined the impacts of the lockdowns on the work of academic staff at universities. Using a bibliometric analysis and investigation of a set of case studies, the study sheds light on the difficulties encountered and the means deployed to address them. Our study did not identify a one-size-fits-all response to manage the manifold changes brought on HEIs by the COVID-19 pandemic. Selected arising priorities include creating a culture of educational resilience through a container of complementary measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 59 million people reside in the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia). The rate of urbanization is more than 80% in each of these countries. To better understand the trends and knowledge structures and to aid policy design and implementation, more research is needed on the topic of urbanization in GCC countries. In order to address this knowledge gap, bibliometric analysis and scientific mapping procedures utilizing VOSviewer were employed. A total of 415 academic papers covering four decades, from 1980 to 2021, were collected from the Web of Science database and split into three time periods: 1980–2017, 2018–2019, and 2020–2021. The findings indicate that the topics related to sustainable development, environmental regulations, renewable energy, and smart cities have received the most attention. In addition, land use planning, urban growth, and energy consumption have been dominant themes over different periods. Several intertwined factors have contributed to the evolution of research over these periods. These include the widespread diffusion of the sustainability agenda, the rise of advanced ICT, and the escalating rate of urbanization. It can also be explained by the fact that the world has been grappling with numerous environmental challenges, increasingly requiring innovative solutions for sustainability. The findings of this study can be used to develop better strategies for sustainable urban development in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is an essential need of people; however, people living in displacement settings are often deprived of this basic need. Connecting refugee camps through the main grid is challenging due to their locations. Biogas is an energy source that can be implemented to address the energy need of refugee camps. Implementation of biogas technology can help to reach sustainable development goal-7 (SDG 7) and its synergies in refugee camps. Therefore, in this study, the contribution of biogas in achieving sustainable development goals is presented to address the current gap in the literature. For this, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were considered as a case study. The waste situation in Rohingya refugee camps is highlighted and considered. Generated biogas from the organic fraction municipal solid (OFMSW) was used to determine the LPG cylinder reduction potential in Rohingya refugee camps. Approximately 497,587 LPG cylinders can be replaced if biogas is used in cooking activities. Moreover, compared to wood fuel, biogas used in cookstoves emits 85% less greenhouse gas. This study underlines the importance of further research to determine the prospective use of biogas in clean cooking in refugee camps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development and urban resilience are dominant urban planning paradigms that have become buzzwords in urban planning and policy domains over the past 2–3 decades. While these two paradigms have been analyzed and scrutinized in different studies, the interconnection between them in policy realms is understudied. Compact development policy is expected to contribute to a variety of sustainability goals. However, these goals' alignment with the principles and goals of urban resilience is under question. This research tries to shed some light on this issue. A critical review method is employed to understand how compactness as a sustainable urban development policy relates to different principles and dimensions of urban resilience. First, the conceptual and theoretical relationship between urban resilience and compact city is established. Next, the resulting framework is used to critically analyze 124 articles to understand how the compact city policy relates to urban resilience from different dimensions and principles. Densification and intensification, mixed land use and diversity, and spatial connectivity and public transportation are identified as principles of the compact city. Finally, the interconnection between compact city policy and urban resilience dimensions and principles is explored and assessed through examining the selected literature. The results of the review show some alignments between compact city policy outcomes and urban resilience. However, the level of alignment may vary depending on the context, scale, or dimension. In other words, while compact city in one scale/dimension can increase urban resilience to a specific adverse event or stressor, it might increase vulnerability to others in another scale/dimension. From the policy perspective, compact development policy and urban resilience principles should clearly be defined a priori to reach favorable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the present study was to investigate the spatiotemporal trends of urban traffic accident hotspots during the COVID-19 pandemic. The severity index was used to determine high-risk areas, and the kernel density estimation method was used to identify risk of traffic accident hotspots. Accident data for the time period of April 2018 to November 2020 were obtained from the traffic police of Tabriz (Iran) and analyzed using GIS spatial and network analysis procedures. To evaluate the impacts of COVID-19, we used the seasonal variation in car accidents to analyze the change in the total number or urban traffic accidents. Eventually, the sustainability of urban transport was analyzed based on the demographic and land use data to identify the areas with a high number of accidents and its respective impacts for the local residences. Based on the results, the lockdown measures in response to the pandemic have led to significant reductions in road traffic accidents. From the perspective of urban planning, the spatiotemporal urban traffic accident analysis indicated that areas with high numbers of elderly people and children were most affected by car accidents. As we identified the hotspots of urban traffic accidents and evaluated their spatiotemporal correlation with land use and demography characteristics, we conclude that the results of this study can be used by urban managers and support decision making to improve the situation, so that fewer accidents will happen in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of smart cities peaked in 2015, bringing an increased influx of 'smart' devices in the form of the Internet of Things (IoT) and sensors in cities. As a result, interest in smart urban governance has become more prevalent in administrative, organisational, and political circles. This is sustained by both local and global demands for an increased contribution to the goals of sustainability through urban governance processes in response to climate change urgencies. Cities generate up to 70% of global emissions, and in light of societal pressures for more inclusivity and democratic processes, the need for sound urban governance is merited. Further knowledge on the theme of smart urban governance is required to better understand the trends and knowledge structures and better assist policy design. Therefore, this study was undertaken to understand and map the evolution of the concept of smart urban governance through a bibliometric analysis and science mapping techniques using VOSviewer. In total, 1897 articles were retrieved from the Web of Science database over 5 decades, from 1968 to 2021, and divided into three subperiods, namely 1978 to 2015, 2016 to 2019, and 2020 to early 2022. Results indicate that the overall emerging themes across the three periods highlight the need for citizen participation in urban policies, especially in relation to smart cities, and for sustained innovation for e-participation, e-governance, and policy frameworks. The results of this study can aid both researchers exploring the concept of urban governance and policy makers rendering more inclusive urban policies, especially those hosting technological and digital domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As complex man-made systems that are home to the majority of the world population, cities have always faced a wide range of risks such as earthquakes. As the backbone of urban systems, physical components, including buildings, transportation networks, communication networks, and open and green spaces, are also vulnerable to disasters. To enhance the capacity to deal with disaster risks, enhancing urban resilience has recently become an essential priority for cities. This study aims to develop and pilot test a framework to evaluate urban physical resilience based on resilience characteristics and associated physical indicators. Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) was used to determine the relationships between physical indicators, and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making methods were applied to determine the relative importance of the characteristics. The results showed that the 'Robustness of Building', 'Building Density', 'Aspect Ratio', and 'Street Width' are the most important among the twenty physical indicators considered in the proposed framework. Subsequently, the proposed framework was applied to one of the districts of Kerman, a major city located in the southwest, earthquake-prone part of Iran. Overall results indicate low levels of physical resilience. The findings of this study can provide urban planners and decision-makers with more transparent and practical insights into the physical resilience of cities. Results can also be used to design and implement policies and programs to improve the current conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are heavily dependent on the use of imported fossil fuels to address their energy needs. This has a negative impact on the environment, SIDS budgets, and energy security. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of renewable energy (RE) as a tool for energy security in SIDS. In this regard, using VOSviewer, a widely known software tool, two bibliometric analyses were performed with a focus on the literature that explores two intertwined issues: (i) the links between RE and energy security; and (ii) the implications of RE and energy security in SIDS. The results from the study show that RE can help SIDS enhance their energy security and assure long-term energy sustainability. In addition, the results show that with the reduction in the cost of batteries in the future, they will eventually replace diesel generators. Moreover, the study showed that renewable energy may assist SIDS in their long-term efforts to achieve food security. The analysis discusses the major obstacles and the potential solutions for the integration of RES into the energy generation of SIDS. The paper concludes with useful recommendations to help island nations reduce their carbon footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience is a multi-faceted concept frequently used across a wide range of disciplines, practices, and sectors. There is a growing recognition of the utility of resilience as a bridging concept that can facilitate inter-and transdisciplinary approaches to tackle complexities inherent in decision making under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Such conditions are common in urban planning, infrastructure planning, asset management, emergency planning, crisis management, and development processes where systemic interdependencies and interests at stake influence decisions and outcomes. A major challenge that can undermine the use of resilience for guiding planning activities is the value-laden and contested nature of the concept that can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Because resilience is context-specific and generally depends on local aspirations, this issue can be partially tackled by adopting participatory approaches for the conceptualization of resilience. This paper provides an example of how co-design methods can be employed for conceptualizing resilience. The Structured Interview Matrix was used as a technique to facilitate discussions among a diverse group of researchers and practitioners attending the International Workshop on Tools and Indicators for Assessing Urban Resilience. Participants deliberated on issues related to constituent elements of urban resilience, including its position vis-à-vis concepts such as adaptation and sustainability, institutional factors that can enable/constrain resilience building, and the challenges of conducting and operationalizing urban resilience assessment. This paper can be considered as an initial step towards further exploration of participatory approaches for clarifying the underlying dimensions of complex concepts such as resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing impacts of climate change, coupled with the Greta Thunberg effect, the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, and varied environmental policy documents, are pointing to the need for urgent and cohesive climate action and mitigation frameworks. One potent solution, gaining global acceptance, is that of the Green New Deal (GND), positioned as a radical rethinking of political and economic structures in view of pushing sustainability at the forefront of national, regional, and global issues. With the model rapidly gaining ground in various geographies, and in different forms in view of contextualization needs, there is a need to better understand its evolution, knowledge structures, and trends. This paper thus sets forth to provide an understanding of the evolution and implementation of GND through a bibliometric analysis and science mapping techniques using VOSviewer and CiteSpace to identify the thematic focus of 1174 articles indexed in the Web of Science since 1995. To understand the thematic evolution of the field over time, we divided the study period into three sub-periods, namely 1995–2014, 2015–2019, and 2020–2021. These sub-periods were determined considering important milestones related to GNDs. Term co-occurrence analyses were then conducted to understand thematic focus and associated trends. Also, co-citation analysis and bibliographic coupling were other methods applied to identify major sources, authors, publications, and countries that have made more contributions to the development of research on GNDs. The findings of this paper can help both researchers and policy makers understand the evolution and trends of GNDs to better formulate GNDs strategies and policies in accordance with varying needs and geographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its emergence in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has swept through many cities around the world, claiming millions of lives and causing major socio-economic impacts. The pandemic occurred at an important historical juncture when smart solutions and technologies have become ubiquitous in many cities. Against this background, in this review, we examine how smart city solutions and technologies have contributed to resilience by enhancing planning, absorption, recovery, and adaptation abilities. For this purpose, we reviewed 147 studies that have discussed issues related to the use of smart solutions and technologies during the pandemic. The results were synthesized under four themes, namely, planning and preparation, absorption, recovery, and adaptation. This review shows that investment in smart city initiatives can enhance the planning and preparation ability. In addition, the adoption of smart solutions and technologies can, among other things, enhance the capacity of cities to predict pandemic patterns, facilitate an integrated and timely response, minimize or postpone transmission of the virus, provide support to overstretched sectors, minimize supply chain disruption, ensure continuity of basic services, and offer solutions for optimizing city operations. These are promising results that demonstrate the utility of smart solutions for enhancing resilience. However, it should be noted that realizing this potential hinges on careful attention to important issues and challenges related to privacy and security, access to open-source data, technological affordance, legal barriers, technological feasibility, and citizen engagement. Despite this, this review shows that further development of smart city initiatives can provide unprecedented opportunities for enhancing resilience to the pandemic and similar future events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the effects of climate change have become more noticeable in Iran, especially in big cities. In particular, climate-related flood risk is increasingly recognized as a potential threat in the capital city of Tehran. Accordingly, the present study aimed to provide a framework/assessment tool to measure Tehran's resilience to flood risks. To this end, 21 professionals from different disciplines were selected through a purposive sampling procedure and were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The analysis procedure resulted in the identification of 3 themes, 15 categories, 40 subcategories, and 235 codes. The themes were social, economic, and organizational; The identified categories were culture and education (since culture is something to be learned through formal and informal education this component has two features: culture and education), participation, trust, attitude, solidarity, resources, empowerment, flexibility, credit, supervision, intercommunication, rules, specialization, and research. Validation of the indicators and their usability based on the opinions of local experts was used to calibrate the assessment tool and ensure its context-sensitivity. The results of this research can help planners and policymakers to increase their awareness of flood resilience. The approach taken in this research may also be useful for developing flood resilience assessment tools in other Iranian cities as well as in other cities of the Global South with similar conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of smart cities has gained significant momentum in science and policy circles over the past decade. This study aims to provide an overview of the structure and trends in the literature on smart cities. Bibliometric analysis and science mapping techniques using VOSviewer and CiteSpace are used to identify the thematic focus of over 5000 articles indexed in the Web of Science since 1991. In addition to providing insights into the thematic evolution of the field, the three-decade study period is divided into two sub-periods (1991–2015 and 2016–2021). While splitting the dataset into more sub-periods would have been desirable, we decided to only examine two sub-periods as only very few papers have been published until 2010. The annual number of publications has progressively increased since then, with a surge in the annual number of publications observable from 2015 onwards. The thematic analysis showed that the intellectual base of the field has been very limited during the first period, but has expanded significantly since 2015. Over time, some thematic evolutions, such as further attention to linkages to climate change and resilience, and more emphasis on security and privacy issues, have been made. The thematic analysis shows that existing research on smart cities is dominated by either conceptual issues or underlying technical aspects. It is, therefore, essential to do more research on the implementation of smart cities and actual and/or potential contributions of smart cities to solving societal issues. In addition to elaborating on thematic focus, the study also highlights major authors, journals, references, countries, and institutions that have contributed to the development of the smart cities literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is becoming a dominant concern for advanced countries. The Paris Agreement sets out a global framework whose implementation relates to all human activities and is commonly guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), which set the scene for sustainable development performance configuring all climate action related policies. Fast control of CO2 emissions necessarily involves cities since they are responsible for 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) is clearly involved in the deployment of SDG 13 (Climate Action). European Sustainability policies are financially guided by the European Green Deal for a climate neutral urban environment. In turn, a common framework for urban policy impact assessment must be based on architectural design tools, such as building certification, and common data repositories for standard digital building models. Many Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) tools have been developed but the growing availability of open data repositories for cities, together with big-data sources (provided through Internet of Things repositories), allow accurate neighbourhood simulations, or in other words, digital twins of neighbourhoods. These digital twins are excellent tools for policy impact assessment. After a careful analysis of current scientific literature, this paper provides a generic approach for a simple neighbourhood model developed from building physical parameters which meets relevant assessment requirements, while simultaneously being updated (and tested) against real open data repositories, and how this assessment is related to building certification tools. The proposal is validated by real data on energy consumption and on its application to the Benicalap neighbourhood in Valencia (Spain). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article engages in the understanding of resilience from the perspective of socio-ecological systems (SES) and the reconstitution of events of recovery and reconstruction in the city of Talca after the 27-F earthquake in Chile, between 2010 and 2012. For such purposes, we have developed a chronological or timeline-analysis model. This methodology, which uses mostly ethnographic and participant-observation techniques to recapitulate these events, observes the interaction of social agents, elements of the built environment, government institutions, and other institutional functions of the urban domain within the socio-ecological panarchy. The results suggest that key events, such as local government institutional actions, the observation of probable property speculation events, and community agency efforts dismissal, among other factors, could alter both human and natural resilience processes. In turn, this could affect the capacity of this city, its inhabitants, and its social institutions to endure future crises, as a product of deteriorated and maladaptive resilience mechanisms, aside from the natural and geographical conditions of Chile, exposed to future earthquake events. Likewise, the partial loss of the civic environment in this historic city and weakened neighborhood networks, contrasting with the redevelopment of real estate in central areas, altogether portray considerable risks with regard to the (un)generated social mechanisms of resilience, affecting future developments. The final section focuses on discussing these findings and their relevance in integrating a coherent understanding of SES resilience in urban planning and governance practice, especially in cities or urban areas that are prone to natural risks or catastrophes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A handmade carpet is one of the most well-known handcrafts around the world. Iranian handmade carpets are known as luxury products in domestic and international markets due to their strength and product value. The main objective of this research is to apply a geographical information system (GIS)-based, spatially-explicit approach to assess the sustainability of handmade carpet production in the East Azerbaijan Province of Iran, which is internationally famous for the diversity and quality of its handmade carpets. To achieve this goal, we employed 23 criteria in four main clusters: population characteristics, education status, employment status, and business activities related to the carpet industry. In order to determine the significance of each criterion, an integrated approach of fuzzy and network analysis processes was applied. Accordingly, the GIS aggregation function was employed to map and identify the areas that are suitable and of high potential for handmade carpet production. The results indicate that there is a very high potential for handmade carpet production in some areas of Tabriz, Osku, Marageh, Heris, and Meyaneh counties. However, high sustainability also extends to some areas in Marand, Bonab, and Kalaybar counties. The obtained maps present the potential of each city and village for handmade carpet production. The research also aims to evaluate and suggest relevant policies and practices to overcome the identified challenges in order to promote, develop, and preserve the handmade carpet sector. The results of this research are of great importance for different stakeholders in the handmade production and for decision makers and authorities in the East Azerbaijan Province. The results can be used to determine the potential of each area for handmade carpet production and to highlight potential challenges. This research also presents a new approach for sustainability assessments in studies on handcrafts and, in particular, carpets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an efficient integrated approach of spatial decision-making systems and geographical information science for spatially explicit sustainable development mapping. The approach was developed, and its efficiency examined for sustainability assessment in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. To achieve this goal, sustainable development indicators were employed through GIS decision rule and spatial analysis. Accordingly, 13 main criteria and 44 sub-criteria were identified and prepared as GIS dataset. The fuzzy analytical network process (FANP) method was employed to derive the criteria weights and their significance. We also applied the Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) for minimizing the uncertainties associated with the FANP weights. The Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) method was applied to aggregate the indicators and develop the sustainable development maps. Results confirmed that integrated GIS-based decision rules can be applied for any sustainable development mapping efficiently. Results of this research present an approach for sustainable development assessment and can be applied for similar research effectually. In the case of East Azerbaijan Province, the detailed results represent the unbalanced sustainable development within the different counties of this province. This requires taking necessary actions to ensure more balanced and just economic development in the province. The degree of sustainable development shows a significant spatial correlation with the industrial activities, employment, demography, poverty and infrastructure properties. The obtained results are of great importance for decision makers to identify efficient approaches in light of sustainable development mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on urban resilience assessment has grown rapidly over the past two decades. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the state of knowledge on urban resilience assessment through mapping the knowledge domain and highlighting emerging trends during different periods. The objects of study were 420 papers published in the Web of Science from 1998 to 2020. Science mapping was done using VOSviewer and CiteSpace, two widely known software tools for bibliometrics analysis and scientometric visualization. The results show that research published on urban resilience assessment was very limited and fragmented until 2009, and the focus has mainly been on risk mitigation and vulnerability assessment. The intellectual base grew between 2010 and 2014, when a paradigm shift from approaches based on robustness and reliability toward more adaptation-oriented approaches occurred. Finally, the annual publication trends have grown rapidly over the past five years and there has been more emphasis on climate change adaptation and flood resilience. Overall, in terms of dimensional focus, more attention has been paid to infrastructural, institutional, and environmental aspects at the expense of social and economic dimensions. In addition to information on thematic focus and evolution, this paper also provides other bibliometrics information on the influential authors, institutions, journals, and publications that lay the foundation of the field and can be used by various interested groups as points of reference to gain better knowledge about the structure and thematic evolution of urban resilience assessment. The paper concludes by highlighting gaps and making some recommendations for future improvement of the field. Major gaps are related to assessing resilience against socio-economic and health risks (e.g., economic recession and pandemics such as COVID-19). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities around the world increasingly recognize the need to build on their resilience to deal with the converging forces of urbanization and climate change. Given the significance of critical infrastructure for maintaining quality of life in cities, improving their resilience is of high importance to planners and policy makers. The main purpose of this study is to spatially analyze the resilience of water, electricity, and gas critical infrastructure networks in Ahvaz, a major Iranian city that has been hit by various disastrous events over the past few years. Towards this goal, we first conducted a two-round Delphi survey to identify criteria that can be used for determining resilience of critical infrastructure networks across different parts of the city. The selected criteria that were used for spatial analysis are related to the physical texture, the design pattern, and the scale of service provision of the critical infrastructure networks. Results showed that, overall, critical infrastructure networks in Ahvaz do not perform well against the measurement criteria. This is specially the case in Regions 1, 2, 4, and 6, which are characterized by issues such as old and centralized infrastructure networks and high levels of population density. The study highlights the need to make improvements in terms of the robustness, redundancy, and flexibility of the critical infrastructure networks in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following numerous global scientific studies and major international agreements, the decarbonization of energy systems is an apparent and pressing concern. The consequence of continued emission growth tied to rising global average temperatures is difficult to predict, but against a background of other natural and human-induced disasters, may create a situation, from a positive perspective, where each disaster event triggers "build back better" responses designed to speed the transition toward low carbon, resilience-oriented energy systems. This article examines the potential for disaster-triggered responses in communities, at various local and regional levels, in four industrial economies in the Asia Pacific region: Japan, China, Australia, and the USA. Seven case studies were evaluated against a set of criteria that exemplify the key aspects of resilient energy systems. The research results suggest that a new space of innovation does emerge in post-disaster situations at a range of local and regional scales. The greatest potential benefit and opportunity for significant gains, however, appears to manifest at the small community level, and the ultimate challenge relates to how to mainstream local innovations into state and national level transformation on energy systems so as to enhance resilience and promote rapid decarbonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]