Citation

@article{ho2026discovering,
  title={Discovering emerging trends and interdisciplinary mechanisms in urban studies and planning research using topic modelling 1991--2021},
  author={Ho, Sam K. S. and Deng, Weipeng and Yang, Tianren},
  journal={Humanities and Social Sciences Communications},
  year={2026},
  doi={10.1057/s41599-026-06712-3},
  publisher={Springer Nature}
}

Abstract

This study maps how urban studies and planning research evolved between 1991 and 2021 by applying latent Dirichlet allocation to 44,147 articles from 30 leading journals. The analysis identifies 12 topics grouped into three broader clusters and highlights three mechanisms of interdisciplinary exchange: uneven knowledge flows between subfields, bridge topics that connect otherwise separate conversations, and methodological integration through shared spatial-analytical tools. Over time, environmental sustainability and neighbourhood planning gain prominence, while more conventional spatial econometric approaches decline in relative importance. Co-occurrence analysis also shows stronger cross-topic collaboration, with more authors contributing across topical boundaries over time. Together, these findings provide an empirical account of how interdisciplinary integration in urban studies and planning takes shape and offer a reproducible framework for tracing research evolution in response to complex urban challenges.

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