Smart city research tree

The purpose of this study is to systematize publications about smart cities indexed in the most authoritative international publication databases. Scopus and Web of Science entries were used as the information base for the study. The systematized publications were selected by “smart city” in their subjects and keywords. Also, the selection of studies targeted scientific papers only (except for conference proceedings and other publications), which helped evaluate and systematize more comprehensive and substantial Web of Science and Scopus works on smart cities. The paper considers a set of related aspects that have determined the development of smart city research, among which are the accelerating digitalization rates in all socio-economic aspects in modern society, the urbanization of territories, the increasing burden on the environment, and more intensive exploitation of various resources. This systematization of publications by the specified parameters outlined the main areas of research, which develop the concept of smart cities. To visualize the research trends and directions in the field of urban environment digitalization and the implementation of smart city ideas, a research tree was built that reflects the author’s idea of the development of research on smart cities. The paper notes that the main areas where the research on smart cities is globally developing seem to be related to such aspects as smart city infrastructure, smart city management, social and innovative development of smart cities. These aspects are highlighted as the main ones in designing the research tree in this paper. The scientific novelty of the results obtained lies in the systematization of research on smart cities and the identification of the main development trends in this field of knowledge.