Geography and Urban Research

A Meta-Analysis of Global Research on Good Urban Governance

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Iraj Teimouri 1
Fereidoun Babaei Aghdam 1
Ali Oskouee Aras 1
Parinaz Badamchizadeh 1
Hadis Bordbar 2

1 Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 PhD, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Humanities, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22130/gur.2026.2087097.1042
Abstract
This study was conducted with the aim of scientometric analysis and investigation of research trends in Good Urban Governance from 2000 to 2025. Bibliographic data were extracted from the Web of Science database. The search strategy was designed based on specialized keywords in titles, abstracts, and keywords. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1,357 articles were selected for final analysis. The data were purified, validated, and analyzed using scientometric methods, scientific collaboration network analysis, and VOSviewer software. This approach enabled the identification of core topics, thematic clustering, and research collaboration patterns. Data analysis revealed that studies on Good Urban Governance have primarily focused on urban governance, sustainability, resilience, social justice, and smart technologies. Thematic clustering identified six main research areas: governance and urban management, sustainability and urban development, citizen participation, social justice, technology and smartization, and emerging domains. Co-authorship network analysis showed that scientific collaboration in this field is centralized and heterogeneous; a few key researchers act as bridges and accelerators of knowledge diffusion. These findings indicate the growth of scientific collaborations at international and domestic levels, but also highlight the risk of over-reliance on a few central nodes. By presenting a comprehensive overview of research trends and scientific collaboration networks, this study identified key research gaps. Major gaps include the need for integrated models of justice and sustainability, strengthening operational mechanisms of citizen participation, and localizing strategies imported from Western contexts for developing countries. Based on the findings, future research should focus on developing hybrid justice-resilience frameworks. Urban policymakers can utilize the collaboration network patterns identified to reduce knowledge asymmetry between developed and developing countries.

Keywords

Good Urban Governance
Scientometrics
VOSviewer
Scientific Collaboration Networks
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Geography and Urban Research
Volume 3, Issue 1
Winter 2026
Pages 85-104

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