Digital technologies in urban regeneration: A systematic review of literature

Abstract

Urban regeneration is a challenging intervention, considering the multidimensional issues involved and the complexities of stakeholder collaborations. While prior research indicates the potential of digital technology in addressing these challenges and introducing novel approaches to urban regeneration, the full scope of applying emerging digital concepts, including but not limited to geographic information systems, digital twins, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality to enhance urban regeneration still needs to be explored. We conducted a systematic literature review to address this gap, employing meta-analysis and bibliometric analysis. Six key aspects of urban regeneration were identified, including decision-making support, prioritization of areas of concern, stakeholder participation, regeneration scenario identification, design and implementation of regeneration actions, and post-regeneration analysis. We evaluated the impact of digital technologies across these dimensions, examining their interaction with critical urban regeneration domains through spatiotemporal analyses of published literature. Our findings delineate novel applications and benefits of emerging digital technologies throughout various stages of urban regeneration, from site selection to project evaluation. This study comprehensively appraises how urban regeneration processes can be enriched by leveraging innovative technological applications while also suggesting avenues for future digitally sustainable integrated approaches to urban regeneration.