Research Hotspots and Thematic Evolution of Urban Green Space Accessibility: A Bibliometric and BERTopic-Based Topic Modeling Analysis

Urban green space accessibility is a key indicator for evaluating the rationality of green space distribution, service equity, and residents’ well-being. To examine the thematic structure and recent developments of urban green space accessibility research, this study analyzed 373 publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection between 2016 and 2025. Bibliometric analyses using VOSviewer and CiteSpace were integrated with BERTopic-based topic modeling to systematically examine the research landscape and thematic evolution of the field. The results indicate the following: (1) Within the selected corpus, annual publication counts increased markedly after 2020 and peaked in 2024. China and the United States were the leading contributors, while international collaboration varied across countries and regions. (2) Spatial accessibility measurement using GIS-based network analysis and the two-step floating catchment area method, together with equity assessments of green space provision, continued to constitute the methodological foundation of the field. (3) Inequalities in green space accessibility, assessments of green space provision, and green space equity and spatial justice were the three largest research themes. The research focus has gradually shifted from basic measurements of distance and service coverage toward supply–demand matching, socioeconomic disparities, health and well-being, perceived accessibility, vulnerable populations, 15-min living-circle governance, and climate adaptation. (4) Future studies should place greater emphasis on actual green space use, subjective perceptions and experiences, the integration of multi-source data, and accessibility to green space services. The proposed literature review framework, which integrates bibliometric analysis, topic modeling, and trend identification, provides a methodological reference for future reviews in related research fields.