Urban food security perspective towards sustainable development Goal 2: A bibliometric analysis

The rising global hunger and food insecurity question the progress attained towards the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2. This study reviewed the evolution and consolidation of scientific production on urban food security (UFS) from 1988 to 2022 using the Scopus database. A bibliometric analysis employed investigates the annual productivity growth, spatial distribution, and research collaborations by regions and keywords. Scientific mapping analysis shows keyword co-occurrence and thematic construction using the multidimensional scaling method. Food security shows a trend of diversification of research towards the UFS component, suggesting a rapid evolution and emerging research interest in achieving zero hunger. However, the urban component of food security research collaboration varies between locations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The core thematic topics, which include sustainability and governance, food supply linkages, gender, and nutrition, are research pathways essential for an inclusive UFS strategy towards achieving SDG 2. An advanced synergy of open and cross-regional research collaboration at UFS is highly recommended.