Exploring Research Fields in Green Buildings and Urban Green Spaces for Carbon-Neutral City Development

The international community is striving to build carbon-neutral societies in response to urban environmental challenges. Green Buildings (GBs) and Urban Green Spaces (UGSs) are recognized as key elements in future city development, as they contribute to both the reduction and absorption of carbon emissions. This study analyzed research fields related to GBs and UGSs by collecting and examining keywords from academic articles indexed in the Scopus database: 2880 articles from 1971 to 2025. After refining the dataset to 1685 articles, centrality, betweenness, and cluster analyses were conducted, and the results were visualized through a keyword network map. The findings are summarized as follows: (1) Research on GBs predominantly focuses on experimental and technological aspects, especially in the areas of heat and energy. (2) UGS-related studies are largely policy-driven and comprehensive, centering on green infrastructure and ecosystem services. (3) The international research landscape highlights key topics such as the greening of existing building stock, green roofs, and rooftop agriculture integrating advanced technologies, focusing on how these GB and UGS strategies address barriers to urban carbon cycling. This study offers valuable insights for researchers in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning who are working toward the realization of carbon-neutral cities.