Identify the effects of urbanization on carbon emissions (EUCE): a global scientometric visualization analysis from 1992 to 2018

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 28; no. 24; pp. 31358 - 31369
• Main Authors: Zhu, Enyan, Qi, Qiuyu, Sha, Mei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbon; Carbon footprint; China; computer software; Documents; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecosystem services; Ecotoxicology; Emissions; Energy conservation; Energy conversion; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Green infrastructure; Greenhouse gases; greenhouses; issues and policy; Land cover; Land use; land use and land cover maps; Nitrous oxide; Open spaces; Research Article; Resource consumption; Scientometrics; Temporal distribution; Trends; Urban planning; Urbanization; Visualization; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; United States > US; China; Urbanization; Scientometric visualization; Citespace; Carbon emissions; VOSviewer
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-12858-1

The effects of urbanization on carbon emissions (EUCE) are complex, while rare work has comprehensively elaborated on how various aspects affect and develop. In this study, utilizing Citespace and VOSviewer software, a global scientometric visualization analysis was conducted to excavate various impacts and future trends of urbanization on carbon emissions. Based on publications from the year 1982 to 2018, the spatial-temporal distribution of publications, collaboration, current hotspots, and future trends of EUCE were carried out. The results indicated that between 1992 and 2018, there were accelerated increasing trends of EUCE researches world widely, among which China, the USA, and UK ranked the top 3. Relevant research firstly appeared in the USA, while grew most rapidly in China. Research subjects mainly concentrate on population migration, resource consumption, land use and land cover change (LULCC), energy conservation, non-carbon greenhouse gases like CH 4 and N 2 O. And attention on carbon footprint has become a hotspot for carbon mitigation. For research fronts, ecosystem service offered by urban green space has gradually evolved as a research focus. Besides, energy transformation technology is critical for mitigating carbon emissions and has become an important concern in the future development. Furthermore, the timeline visualization analysis indicates that all the research topics related to EUCE are cited and connected with each other, reflecting the necessity of interdisciplinary integration in scientific research. Overall, our study has provided a quantitative visualization on the current situation and future trends of EUCE subject, which will be helpful to subsequent research and policy guidance.