The First Two Decades of Smart-City Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

Mora, Luca; Bolici, Roberto; Deakin, Mark

Abstract

This paper reports on the first two decades of research on smart cities by conducting a bibliometric analysis of the literature published between 1992 and 2012. The analysis shows that smart city research is fragmented and lacks cohesion, and its growth follows two main development paths. The first one is based on the peer-reviewed publications produced by European universities, which support a holistic perspective on smart cities. The second path, instead, stands on the grey literature produced by the American business community and relates to a techno-centric understanding of the subject. Divided along such paths, the future development of this new and promising field of research risks being undermined. For while the bibliometric analysis indicates that smart cities are emerging as a fast-growing topic of scientific enquiry, much of the knowledge which is generated about them is singularly technological in nature. In that sense, lacking the social intelligence, cultural artifacts, and environmental attributes which are needed for the ICT-related urban innovation such research champions to be smart in securing the physical infrastructure requirements of cities.

Citation

Mora, L., Bolici, R., & Deakin, M. (2017). The First Two Decades of Smart-City Research: A Bibliometric Analysis. Journal of Urban Technology, 24(1), 3-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2017.1285123

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 18, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Mar 22, 2017
• Publication Date: Mar 31, 2017
• Deposit Date: Apr 24, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 23, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Urban Technology
• Print ISSN: 1063-0732
• Electronic ISSN: 1466-1853
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 3-27
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2017.1285123
• Keywords: smart city research; urban innovation; bibliometric analysis; development paths; corporate model; holistic interpretation
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/831934
• Contract Date: Apr 24, 2017