A citespace-assisted overview of citizen science research in the built environment field

Purpose This study aims to provide an overview of how Citizen Science (CS) has been applied in the Built Environment (BE) field, highlighting research trends, participation levels, challenges, and future opportunities. Design/methodology/approach A total of 107 relevant articles were identified from Taylor & Francis Online, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. A combination of bibliometric analysis (using CiteSpace software) and Content Analysis was conducted to reveal a broad picture of the research landscape. Findings The study found that 107 articles were published across 52 journals, primarily in urban planning and health-related domains. The United States and the United Kingdom lead global CS collaboration, while many regions remain underrepresented. CS projects in BE are typically small-scale (=50 participants), with contributory CS being the most common (45.79%). The CS research focuses on enhancing community engagement, addressing health-related BE issues, and improving urban design. However, research gaps remain in mental well-being, social networks, and policy support. Key challenges include sustaining long-term engagement, addressing technical skill gaps, ensuring data quality, and improving demographic representativeness. Research limitations/implications The review is limited to English-language articles and focuses on formal CS projects. Future research could expand to include more diverse databases, apply advanced computational methods like NLP, and conduct comparative analyses across regions and participation models. Originality/value This review systematically maps the landscape of CS research in the BE field, clarifies citizen participation levels, highlights regional disparities, and proposes actionable directions for improving research design, digital tool integration, and policy mechanisms that can support the formal inclusion of CS research in urban planning and decision-making processes.