Fragmentation Across Scales, Geography, and Climate Challenges in European Urban Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Research: A Bibliometric and Systematic Review

ABSTRACT European urban climate change research lacks integration across scales, geography, and climate challenges, despite Europe's coordinated policy frameworks. Through a hybrid bibliometric and systematic review of 1528 studies (2010–2025) using Cortext Manager and PRISMA 2020 guidelines, this study maps the conceptual patterns, knowledge gaps, and adaptation and mitigation measures in European urban climate change research. Findings reveal: (1) scale fragmentation between building‐ and city‐level research; (2) geographic concentration in Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany, neglecting the diversity of European urban typologies; and (3) isolated approaches to interconnected climate challenges, with Urban Heat Island (UHI) dominating the literature. This systemic fragmentation limits cities' capacity to evaluate co‐benefits, trade‐offs, and strategies aligned with SDG 11 targets. Based on an empirically derived taxonomy of European urban climate action, the study proposes a research agenda calling for transdisciplinary frameworks and integrated modeling approaches to bridge these silos and support evidence‐based climate policy.