Advancing urban hub planning: A bibliometric analysis of concepts, effects evaluation, and spatial design

Urban hubs play a pivotal role in advancing urban and transport sustainability. However, despite growing scholarly interest, existing research fails to provide a thorough understanding of their development and evolution. This study addresses this gap by analyzing 624 documents on urban hubs published between 2000 and 2024 through a bibliometric approach. The research synthesizes the concept of urban hubs, examines their effects, and reviews key design elements. It highlights how the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly influenced urban hub planning, particularly in location optimization and spatial design. Through a detailed literature review, the study identifies key research gaps, including the lack of quantitative methods to assess urban hubs’ impacts, the need for demographic and long-term health considerations, insufficient focus on environmental goals like resilience and low-carbon design, and the limited application of AI techniques in generating 3D spatial functions. The study proposes a comprehensive AI-driven research framework that integrates social, economic, and environmental factors to enhance urban hub planning. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners, offering a pathway for the future development of sustainable urban hubs.