A Decade of Publications on Smart Cities: A Bibliometric Perspective

This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of scholarly publications on smart cities with the aim of examining the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and collaborative patterns within this rapidly expanding research domain. Despite the growing volume of smart cities literature, existing studies often remain fragmented, making it difficult to obtain a systematic understanding of dominant research themes, methodological orientations, and global knowledge production trends. To address this gap, this study employed a structured bibliometric methodology based on data retrieved through advanced searching in the Scopus database, resulting in a final dataset of 718 relevant publications. Descriptive statistics and preliminary trend analyses were conducted using the Scopus analyser to examine publication growth, subject area distribution, and citation patterns. OpenRefine was subsequently utilised to clean, standardise, and harmonise bibliographic records, ensuring consistency in author names, keywords, and institutional affiliations. VOSviewer was then applied to visualise co-occurrence networks of author keywords and co-authorship collaboration patterns, enabling the identification of major research clusters and international collaboration structures. The findings reveal that smart cities research is anchored around core themes such as sustainability, urban development, governance, and information and communication technologies, with emerging emphasis on artificial intelligence, internet of things, and data driven decision making. The numerical results further indicate strong international collaboration led by countries in Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Overall, this study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a structured and integrative overview of smart cities research, offering valuable insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to understand research trends, identify gaps, and inform future research directions.

Smart Cities, Bibliometric Analysis

1. Ahad, M. A., Paiva, S., Tripathi, G., & Feroz, N. (2020). Enabling technologies and sustainable smart cities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102301 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Al-Khoury, A., Hussein, S. A., Abdulwhab, M., Aljuboori, Z. M., Haddad, H., Ali, M. A., Abed, I. A., & Flayyih, H. H. (2022). Intellectual Capital History and Trends: A Bibliometric Analysis Using Scopus Database. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811615 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Al-Marri, M., Mehanna, R.-A., & Elkhatib, M. (2025). Wireless innovation in smart cities: a Dubai perspective. Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 17(2), 197–213. https://doi.org/10.1504/JIBED.2025.148812 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Al Shidhani, A. A. (2019). Cyber defense maturity levels and threat models for smart cities. International Journal of Information Security and Privacy, 13(2), 32–46. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJISP.2019040103 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Allam, Z., & Dhunny, Z. A. (2019). On big data, artificial intelligence and smart cities. Cities, 89, 80–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.01.032 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Allam, Z., Sharifi, A., Bibri, S. E., Jones, D. S., & Krogstie, J. (2022). The Metaverse as a Virtual Form of Smart Cities: Opportunities and Challenges for Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability in Urban Futures. Smart Cities, 5(3), 771–801. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities5030040 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Alves, J. L., Borges, I. B., & De Nadae, J. (2021). Sustainability in complex projects of civil construction: Bibliometric and bibliographic review. Gestao e Producao, 28(4). https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9649-2020v28e5389 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Appio, F. P., Cesaroni, F., & Di Minin, A. (2014). Visualizing the structure and bridges of the intellectual property management and strategy literature: a document co-citation analysis. Scientometrics, 101(1), 623–661. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-014-1329-0 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Assyakur, D. S., & Rosa, E. M. (2022). Spiritual Leadership in Healthcare: A Bibliometric Analysis. Jurnal Aisyah : Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.30604/jika.v7i2.914 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Babay, H., & Erragcha, N. (2023). Digital transformation: Towards smart and sustainable city services. In Handbook of Research on Applications of AI, Digital Twin, and Internet of Things for Sustainable Development (pp. 286–305). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-6821-0.ch017 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Bakir, D., Chiba, Z., Abghour, N., Moussaid, K., Miyara, M., & Ouaguid, A. (2024). In-depth Exploration of the Present Research Status on Smart Cities. Proceedings - 10th International Conference on Ubiquitous Networking, UNet 2024. https://doi.org/10.1109/UNet62310.2024.10794723 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Barhoumi, T., Kammoun, K., & Boujelbene, Y. (2025). Development Strategy: Sfax Smart City. 2025 Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event, JURSE 2025. https://doi.org/10.1109/JURSE60372.2025.11076030 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Braun, T., Fung, B. C. M., Iqbal, F., & Shah, B. (2018). Security and privacy challenges in smart cities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 39, 499–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.02.039 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Cardullo, P., & Kitchin, R. (2019). Smart urbanism and smart citizenship: The neoliberal logic of ‘citizen-focused’ smart cities in Europe. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 37(5), 813–830. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263774X18806508 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Dembski, F., Woessner, U., Letzgus, M., Ruddat, M., & Yamu, C. (2020). Urban digital twins for smart cities and citizens: The case study of herrenberg, germany. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062307 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. di Stefano, G., Peteraf, M., & Veronay, G. (2010). Dynamic capabilities deconstructed: A bibliographic investigation into the origins, development, and future directions of the research domain. Industrial and Corporate Change, 19(4), 1187–1204. https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtq027 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Fahimnia, B., Sarkis, J., & Davarzani, H. (2015). Green supply chain management: A review and bibliometric analysis. In International Journal of Production Economics (Vol. 162, pp. 101–114). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.01.003 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Gu, D., Li, T., Wang, X., Yang, X., & Yu, Z. (2019). Visualizing the intellectual structure and evolution of electronic health and telemedicine research. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.08.007 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Hatem, F. (2023). Smart in city performance: More to practical life than hardware and software. IET Smart Cities, 5(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1049/smc2.12045 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Javed, A. R., Shahzad, F., Rehman, S. U., Zikria, Y. B., Razzak, I., Jalil, Z., & Xu, G. (2022). Future smart cities requirements, emerging technologies, applications, challenges, and future aspects. Cities, 129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.103794 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Jebbar, H., El Mohadab, M., & Boutkhoum, O. (2024). SMART CITIES: LITERATURE REVIEW AND BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS. International Journal on Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering, 16(59), 321–330. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85198093760&partnerID=40&md5=1ea6026ad10061abed86b2d20863b81e [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Kaïka, M. (2017). ‘Don’t call me resilient again!’: the New Urban Agenda as immunology … or … what happens when communities refuse to be vaccinated with ‘smart cities’ and indicators. Environment and Urbanization, 29(1), 89–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247816684763 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Khavarian-Garmsir, A. R., & Sharifi, A. (2022). Smart cities: Key definitions and new directions. In Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation (pp. 49–67). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85552-5.00003-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Khiste, G. P., & Paithankar, R. R. (2017). Analysis of Bibliometric term in Scopus. International Research Journal, 01(32), 78–83. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Lara, A. P., Da Costa, E. M., Furlani, T. Z., Yigitcanlar, T., Rjab, A. B., Mellouli, S., Visvizi, A., Lytras, M. D., Ozdamli, F., Nawaila, M. B., Al Shidhani, A. A., Babay, H., Erragcha, N., Long, M., Khavarian-Garmsir, A. R., Sharifi, A., Papadopoulou, C.-A., Razmjoo, A., Østergaard, P. A., … Ouaguid, A. (2021). Security and privacy challenges in smart cities. In Smart Cities: Issues and Challenges Mapping Political, Social and Economic Risks and Threats (Vol. 79, Issue 2, pp. 45–58). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102175 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. László, Z. K. (2016). Smart cities: From decoustructlou to bypercoiistruction. Informacios Tarsadalom, 16(3), 9–22. https://doi.org/10.22503/inftars.XVI.2016.3.1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Lekkerkerk, H.-J. (2016). Smart cities and linked data. GIM International, 30(10), 39–41. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85012157868&partnerID=40&md5=2ee5ebdecf055c7006bc7e8a36563c4b [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Li, Z., Wang, Y., & Ji, Y. (2022). Analysis of Key Supporting Technologies and Applications of Smart City Construction. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 861 LNEE, 2795–2803. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9492-9_274 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Long, M. (2020). Application of big data and smart city technology in new urbanization planning. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 1117 AISC, 1004–1012. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2568-1_138 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Mishchenko, V., Lopatkin, D., & Chernyshov, V. (2018). Discussing the concept of smart city: Perspectives from Russia. MATEC Web of Conferences, 212. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201821204016 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Mozuriunaite, S. (2018). The role of landscape design in smart cities. Landscape Architecture and Art, 13, 49–55. https://doi.org/10.22616/J.LANDARCHART.2018.13.05 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Musa, A. A., Dulawat, S., Saleh, K. T., & Alhassan, I. A. (2022). Applicability of utilizing blockchain technology in smart cities development. In Smart City Infrastructure: The Blockchain Perspective (pp. 317–339). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119785569.ch13 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Omambia, A. (2020). Smart ideas for smart city development: An integrative approach for now and thereafter. In Digital Solutions and the Case for Africa’s Sustainable Development (pp. 83–96). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2967-6.ch006 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Osipov, V., Zeldner, A., & Skryl, T. (2018). Making the smart city: Technologies, experiences, and future perspectives. MATEC Web of Conferences, 212. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201821204017 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Ozdamli, F., & Nawaila, M. B. (2024). Analysing the Challenges and Opportunities of Smart Cities. In Signals and Communication Technology: Vol. Part F1293 (pp. 93–111). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34601-9_6 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Papadopoulou, C.-A. (2021). Technology and SDGs in smart cities context. In Smart Cities and the UN SDGs (pp. 45–58). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85151-0.00004-X [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Razmjoo, A., Østergaard, P. A., Denaï, M., Nezhad, M. M., & Mirjalili, S. (2021). Effective policies to overcome barriers in the development of smart cities. Energy Research and Social Science, 79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102175 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Rjab, A. B., & Mellouli, S. (2021). Smart Cities in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things: Promises and Challenges. In Public Administration and Information Technology (Vol. 37, pp. 259–288). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61033-3_12 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Shelton, T., Zook, M., & Wiig, A. (2015). The “actually existing smart city.” Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 8(1), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsu026 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Syed, A. S., Sierra-Sosa, D., Kumar, A., & Elmaghraby, A. (2021). Iot in smart cities: A survey of technologies, practices and challenges. Smart Cities, 4(2), 429–475. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities4020024 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Telang, S., Chel, A., Nemade, A., & Kaushik, G. (2021). Intelligent transport system for a smart city. In Studies in Systems, Decision and Control (Vol. 308, pp. 171–187). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53149-2_9 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Tymoshenko, A., Yahodzinskyi, S., Yaroviy, R., & Kozynets, A. (2025). Information Security in Smart City Systems: Challenges and Solutions. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 1335 LNNS, 162–172. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-87376-8_15 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2017). Citation-based clustering of publications using CitNetExplorer and VOSviewer. Scientometrics, 111(2), 1053–1070. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2300-7 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2007). Bibliometric mapping of the computational intelligence field. International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowldege-Based Systems, 15(5), 625–645. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218488507004911 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Verbeek, A., Debackere, K., Luwel, M., & Zimmermann, E. (2002). Measuring progress and evolution in science and technology - I: The multiple uses of bibliometric indicators. International Journal of Management Reviews, 4(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2370.00083 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. Visvizi, A., & Lytras, M. D. (2019). Smart cities: Issues and challenges mapping political, social and economic risks and threats. In Smart Cities: Issues and Challenges Mapping Political, Social and Economic Risks and Threats. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2018-0-00336-9 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. Wang, L., Hu, S., Betis, G., & Ranjan, R. (2016). A Computing Perspective on Smart City [Guest Editorial]. IEEE Transactions on Computers, 65(5), 1337–1338. https://doi.org/10.1109/TC.2016.2538059 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. Wu, Y. C. J., & Wu, T. (2017). A decade of entrepreneurship education in the Asia Pacific for future directions in theory and practice. In Management Decision (Vol. 55, Issue 7, pp. 1333–1350). https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-05-2017-0518 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. Zhou, L., Yao, Y., Guo, R., & Xu, W. (2020). Core technology of smart cities. In AI-Based Services for Smart Cities and Urban Infrastructure (pp. 47–90). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-5024-3.ch003 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Eco-Microcredit and Rural Transformation: The Mediating Role of Sustainable Farming Practices and the Moderating Effect of Financial Literacy on Household Sustainability
• Comparative Analysis of Traditional and Innovative Methods for Rare Earth Element Extraction
• Global Trends in Sustainability Reporting: A Malaysian Evidence
• Blockchain for Transparency: Tracking Zero-Waste Practices Across the Fashion Value Chain in Bangladesh
• Entrepreneurship and the Path to Globalizing Jamdani Weaving: Tradition, Innovation, and Sustainable Digital Practices