Exploring the Global Research Trends of Cities and Climate Change Based on a Bibliometric Analysis

Climate change is one of the great global challenges. Cities are both drivers and responders of climate change. In recent years, the literature associated with climate change and cities has grown rapidly, but few studies have used a bibliometric analysis and visualization approach to conduct deep mining and explore the current situation and development trends of this field. By using bibliometric and text mining methods, the authors conducted a knowledge map analysis of the research on cities and climate change. Moreover, this article attempts to identify the research hotspots and research gaps in this field. The following findings are distilled. First, research in this field is rapidly emerging, and the current research distribution is extremely uneven. China and the US contributed 36% of total paper output. Second, previous research focused on six topics: Impact of Climate Change and Urbanization, Urban Climate Change Adaptation, Urban Heat Island Effect, Urban Greenhouse Emission, Urban Climate Change and Water, and Urban Energy Systems. The first two topics are currently the most popular directions of research. Third, empirical research shows positive interest in big cities, while climate change research in small and medium-sized cities has been neglected. The results of this work will not only help researchers clarify the current situation in cities and climate change science but also provide guidance for future research.