Analyzing global research trends in urban resilience and its nexus with renewable energy and climate change: a bibliometric study (2000–2025)

Rezaee, Shahriar; Torkaman, Maryam; Behzadfar, Mostafa

doi:10.22034/uep.2025.551762.1733

Analyzing global research trends in urban resilience and its nexus with renewable energy and climate change: a bibliometric study (2000–2025)

Document Type : Review

Authors

Shahriar Rezaee ¹

Maryam Torkaman ²

Mostafa Behzadfar ³

¹ M.Sc. Student in Urban Planning, Department of Urban Studies, Faculty of Architecture and Art, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

² PH. D Candidate, Department of Urban Planning, School of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

³ Professor, Department of Urban Planning, School of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/uep.2025.551762.1733

Abstract

Urban resilience has emerged in the twenty-first century as a key paradigm for confronting climate-change–induced stresses and associated hazards. Its linkage with renewable energy is fundamental, as clean-energy infrastructure facilitates decarbonization. This study aimed to chart the scientific evolution of the “urban resilience–renewable energy–climate change” nexus from 2000 to 2025. Records were retrieved from Scopus using TITLE-ABS-KEY queries centered on urban resilience, renewable energy, and climate change, then harmonized by consolidating synonyms and near-terms (e.g., PV/photovoltaic; NBS/green infrastructure) and deduplicating entries. The final dataset comprises 460 records; the subject-area distribution indicates environmental sciences (> 400), social sciences (~280), and energy (~150). Output has grown more than threefold since 2015, peaking at ~80 publications in 2024 and > 110 in 2025. Geographically, China and the United States lead, with India and Iran emerging as growing contributors. Keyword co-occurrence analysis in VOS viewer (Association Strength normalization; complete counting) reveals three dominant clusters: (1) resilience–climate change and risk management; (2) governance, justice, and energy policy; and (3) urban microclimate, remote sensing, and urban morphology. Journal outlets are led by Sustainability (Switzerland) (~80 papers) and Sustainable Cities and Society (~25 papers). The field is shifting from purely conceptual debates toward applied agendas, such as green infrastructure, urban hydrological risk management, and data-driven urban climatology. Key gaps persist, including the absence of integrated “resilience–energy–ecosystem” metrics, cross-scale disconnects between building and city scales, and the under-representation of spatial/energy justice. The study provides a reproducible quantitative map of this triad and, at the policy level, highlights three priorities: integrating nature-based solutions with renewable energy systems, deploying an urban microclimate monitoring network, and institutionalizing energy justice within urban planning.

Keywords

Climate Change

Co-occurrence

Flood Risk Management

Renewable Energy

Urban Resilience

20.1001.1.28212118.1405.7.3.3.3

Subjects

Urban planning

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