Mapping the Research Landscape of Urban Sustainability Indicators: A Bibliometric Review and Thematic Analysis

Cities have evolved into hubs of economic, social, and cultural activities. The growing attraction of urban regions has resulted in unprecedented urban growth, demanding novel approaches to provide sustainable urban development. To assess sustainable urban development, numerous frameworks involving key sustainability features and indicators have been proposed in the literature. Several studies have identified indicators for environmental, social, economic, institutional and cultural factors; nevertheless, little scholarly effort has been given to mapping the overview of this research area. The purpose of this study is to map the landscape of existing literature on indicators for sustainable urban planning using bibliometric analysis of 205 papers retrieved from the Scopus database. The study used the VOS viewer and Bibliophagy packages to demonstrate the progress status of scientific production. The data shows a continual growth in the number of publications during the last five years. According to the keyword analysis, the most frequently occurred terms were sustainable development, sustainability, and urban growth. The text analysis in VOS viewer identified three thematic areas including the framework for urban sustainability assessment, research and models for smart city, and stakeholder engagement and implementation strategies. A thorough analysis of each thematic area was conducted, and future study directions were identified. Thematic evolution on the topic revealed that the terms “urban economy†and “smart city†have lately acquired prominence, beginning in 2018, indicating a shift toward incorporating cutting-edge technologies and economic aspects into urban development processes. Furthermore, a review of the most frequently adopted sustainability assessment indicators was undertaken, and the limitations of the existing frameworks were identified. The study also identified trending topics and potential future hotspots in the field of sustainable urban planning.