New Insights into the Research Landscape on the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Sustainable Smart Cities: A Bibliometric Mapping and Network Analysis Approach

Abstract

Humanity’s quest for safe, resilient, and liveable cities has prompted research into the application of computational tools in the design and development of sustainable smart cities. Thus, the application of artificial intelligence in sustainable smart cities (AISC) has become an important research field with numerous publications, citations, and collaborations. However, scholarly works on publication trends and the research landscape on AISC remain lacking. Therefore, this paper examines the current status and future directions of AISC research. The PRISMA approach was selected to identify, screen, and analyse 1,982 publications on AISC from Scopus between 2011 and 2022. Results showed that the number of publications and citations rose from 2 to 470 and 157 to 1,540, respectively. Stakeholder productivity analysis showed that the most prolific author and affiliation are Tan Yigitcanlar (10 publications and 518 citations) and King Abdulaziz University (23 publications and 793 citations), respectively. Productivity was attributed to national interests, research priorities, and national or international funding. The largest funder of AISC research is the National Natural Science Foundation of China (126 publications or 6.357 percent of the total publications). Keyword co-occurrence and cluster analyses revealed 6 research hotspots on AISC: digital innovation and technologies; digital infrastructure and intelligent data systems; cognitive computing; smart sustainability; smart energy efficiency; nexus among artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, data analytics and smart cities. Future research would likely focus on the socio-economic, ethical, policy, and technical aspects of the topic.  It is envisaged that global scientific interest in AISC research and relevant publications, citations, products, and services will continue to rise in the future.