FROM TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS TO IMPLEMENTATION: A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW OF BEHAVIORAL BARRIERS IN URBAN CLIMATE ADAPTATION

Abstract

Cities are on the front lines of climate breakdown, but knowing what to do is not enough if people do not act. Meanwhile, engineering and nature-based strategies have been widely proposed. However, urban adaptation often stalls due to behavioral and institutional barriers that are harder to detect but equally critical. This study employs bibliometric analysis to trace the evolution of urban climate adaptation research from 2015 to 2025, with a specific focus on these non-technical impediments. A total of 820 peer-reviewed journal articles were retrieved from the Scopus database based on a title search containing “urban,” “climate,” and “adaptation.” Data were refined using OpenRefine and visualized through VOSviewer to map keyword co-occurrences, country-level trends, and collaborative networks. Results reveal a sharp rise in scholarly output, peaking in 2024, with a noticeable shift in thematic focus from infrastructure-based solutions to topics such as governance, justice, and institutional readiness. Frequently cited keywords include “vulnerability,” “governance,” and “behavioral barriers,” while leading contributions emerged from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. However, collaboration from Global South countries remains limited, despite an increase in publication activity. The findings highlight that many adaptations strategies falter not due to flawed design, but because of psychological resistance, ideological beliefs, or governance complexity. This paper underscores the importance of integrating behavioral science into climate policy and urban planning. By identifying where academic attention has concentrated and where critical gaps remain, the study contributes to the development of more inclusive and implementable climate resilience strategies. It calls for interdisciplinary approaches that move beyond technical fixes to fully engage with the human dimensions shaping urban climate action.