Can Smart Cities Be Sustainable? An Emerging Field of Research

Research on smart sustainable cities (SSCs) has fueled a rapid expansion of scholarly work in recent years. However, the key trends and future research avenues in this field are still ambiguous. This article examines the content of SSC research by conducting network and bibliometric analyses. We analyze data from 312 articles to identify and map the emerging field of SSC research. Our analysis suggests that SSC research is grounded in five distinct clusters, namely, implementation, technology, performance, policy, and value. Further, this review provides a holistic examination of the issues and challenges facing SSC research and how they are being addressed. We identify, diagnose, and tackle these challenges. The results of this study can help academics and practitioners navigate the SSC literature. We provide a map of existing scholarly work and recommend promising avenues for future research. This study also provides valuable guidance to policymakers and government agencies that are directly involved in SSC projects.