Artificial Intelligence in Urban Planning: Co-Word Analysis for Emerging Topics

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a discussed topic across various disciplines. In this context, studies focusing on AI in urban and regional planning come to the fore. The aim of this study is to identify the research trends related to AI in urban planning with its integration. The research is guided by three questions: i. What are the prevailing themes of AI in urban planning? ii. How does AI integrate into these themes? and iii. When do these themes become prominent? For this purpose, the study conducts a bibliometric analysis approach, specifically co-word analysis, to reveal trends and forecast areas in the field of social science and environmental science. The study analyzes all open access publications retrieved from SCOPUS database between 2000 and 2024. The main themes that emerged from the analysis are machine learning, smart cities and decision support systems, while sub-themes are deep learning, neural network, computer vision, sustainability, resilience and climate change. As a result, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the topics by identifying prevailing themes, how integrated AI in urban planning, temporal trends, and emerging key areas for future research.