A Bibliometric Analysis of an Urban Ecosystem Simulation Framework

Siloed approaches to city planning, and management are no longer feasible in solving the current conundrum of the complex, dynamic and emergent nature of excessive resources consumption in urban areas. This prompts the need for holistic modelling approaches, cognisant of complex interactions and trade-offs between diverse city elements; in an endeavour to shift towards a sustainable urban development paradigm. Whilst spatial optimisation tools reinforce the evidence-base for planning via diverse existential urban systems models, there is lack of integrated city models that fully leverage the interlinkages between these systems. An integrated approach to city resources-based consumption, requires adequate comprehension of current challenges encountered by global cities, and existing resolution attempts thereof. Whilst this is possible via adopting a complex systems approach, and conceptualising a city as a 'complex ecosystem of systems', the challenge is identifying all the necessary subsystem components that make up a city, their associated functions, and characteristics. This study thus endeavours to address this identified gap via bibliometric analysis, to establish the current state of research pertaining to global urban systems and provide insight towards the formulation of an integrated modelling approach for city-based resources consumption.