Trend in urban studies category research based on essential science indicators during 2013–2023

This study highlight the state of research and the dominant issues in urban studies. It analyzed 638 top papers in the subject category of Urban Studies from 2013 to 2023, which included 636 highly cited papers and 13 hot papers and belonged to 18 Web of Science categories and 16 research areas. All top papers written in English, were from 867 organizations and 74 countries or territories, and published in 39 journals. The top five journals are Landscape and Urban Planning, Cities, Sustainable Development, Habitat International, Computers Environment and Urban Systems. Top five countries were Peoples R China, USA, England, Netherlands and Australia. Furthermore, top five organizations are Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of California System, University of London, University of Hong Kong, Tsinghua University. With co-occurrence network visualization by VOSviewer, all keywords were separated into five clusters including of ecosystem services and health, city growth, China urbanization, urban planning and management, sustainable development and economic-growth. The most papers are focused on the three Sustainable Development Goals of Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate Action, Life on Land. These findings offer strategic insights for researchers and decision-makers to optimize their research agendas and urban policy strategies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. The results will help researchers clarify the research current situation, but also provide guidance for future research, and also useful for student identifying graduate schools and researchers selecting journals.