The role of urban planning in designing future cities: An analytical study of the conceptual structure

Sustainable futures require linking urban planning principles that govern land use to future cities to achieve resilient, smart, and innovative environments that steadily address challenges like climate change and rapid urbanization. Numerous studies in the field do not adequately cover the topic. Existing studies focus on specific issues and neglect others. While some studies discuss future challenges, transformation, and urban imagination, others examine city trends, climate change, sustainability, technology, biomimicry, and decision-making. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between urban planning and future cities using two methodologies. A bibliometric analysis of the conceptual structure of 415 documents (1969–2024) from the best scholarly classifications was conducted. Additionally, conduct a survey of urban planners and city specialists on "salient challenges, enabling technologies, and preferred design trends." The conceptual structure analysis yielded six main clusters: "Cities, Urbanization, and the Built Environment; Urban Design and Sustainability; Urban Planning and Future Cities; Smart Cities; Planning and Resilience; and Climate Change." Results show a lack of consideration for urban identity and artificial intelligence in the planning of future cities. Urban planners must adopt a multidisciplinary approach, integrate insights from modern sciences like "complexity science," ground the concept of "sustainable smart cities," and enhance their professional skills to fully comprehend current updates. The study concludes with its relevance to urban planners and all city specialists, such as those in technology and the environment. The study emphasizes that the major challenge for planners is to integrate all concepts and disciplines into a unified, coherent system to achieve a sustainable future. • To examine the connection between urban planning and future cities, 415 documents (1969–2024) were bibliometrically analyzed. • There is a diverse mix of concepts, but "sustainability, smart cities, and climate change" predominate. • There is a lack of studies that link urban identity and AI to urban planning for the cities of the future. • The professional skills of urban planners need to be improved to ensure that they fully understand contemporary updates. • The future should focus on interdisciplinary sciences, integrating all concepts and ideas into a unified system.