Global research trends on land acquisition and urban expansion: A bibliometric analysis (2000-2025)

Land acquisition and urban expansion are interconnected processes that shape land governance, property relations, spatial planning, and the socio-economic conditions of peri-urban communities. This study analyzes global research trends on land acquisition and urban expansion from 2000 to 2025 using a Scopus-based bibliometric approach. Bibliographic records were retrieved from title, abstract, and keyword fields and screened through subject, document-type, language, relevance, and duplication criteria, resulting in a final dataset of 300 English-language journal articles and reviews from Social Sciences and Environmental Science. VOSviewer version 1.6.20 was used to examine publication growth, leading journals, productive authors and countries, co-authorship patterns, co-citation networks, keyword co-occurrence, and Bradford core journals. The findings show sustained growth in the field, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.73% and an estimated doubling time of 5.8 years. China, the United States, and Ethiopia are the leading contributing countries. Land Use Policy, Habitat International, Land, Sustainability (Switzerland), and Cities form the Bradford core. The study confirms that research on land acquisition and urban expansion has matured into an interdisciplinary field linking spatial transformation, governance, planning, compensation, sustainability, and socio-economic transition.