Urbanization and Housing Design: Integrating Circular Economy for Sustainable Transformation: Systematic Literature Review
Tejaswi N H, Sagar T SResearch Gap
The existing body of research on urbanization, housing typology transformation and the circular economy in housing design remains fragmented and insufficiently integrated. To date, a comprehensive systematic review of this field is lacking.
Purpose
There is growing recognition that housing design has emerged as a strategic component of sustainable urban transformation rather than merely a physical outcome of urbanization. This study conceptualizes housing as a circular and adaptive system that integrates life-cycle thinking, resource efficiency and regenerative design principles for resilient urban development. Using a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis, the study synthesizes the field’s evolution, intellectual structure and emerging themes for future research and policy directions.
Study Design/Methodology/Approach
This study employed a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines and a bibliometric analysis of 74 Scopus-indexed publications between 2006 and 2025. Bibliometric analysis was performed using Biblioshiny (Bibliometrix package in RStudio) to analyze publication trends, collaboration networks, thematic evolution and conceptual structure. Keyword co-occurrence, document coupling and three-field analysis were applied to map the intellectual structure and identify potential future research directions.
Findings
Research on urbanization and housing design has evolved from descriptive studies to an integrated circular economy framework that incorporates resource efficiency, life-cycle thinking and sustainable housing. The circular economy, building information modelling and life cycle assessment are the primary research drivers. Housing typology remains weakly integrated into the overall conceptual framework. Despite significant research growth and increasing international collaboration, substantial gaps remain in spatial morphology, geographic information system-based analysis and context-specific housing transformation, highlighting priorities for future research.
Originality/Value
This study provides the first comprehensive systematic review and bibliometric synthesis of urbanization, housing typology transformation and the circular economy, identifying knowledge gaps and future research directions.
Limitations
The review is limited to English-language publications indexed in Scopus between 2006 and 2025. Consequently, relevant studies from other databases, languages or publication periods were not captured.