The Evolution and Future Directions of Green Buildings Research: A Scientometric Analysis

Economic development and urbanization naturally give rise to expanding demand for new buildings, whose construction and operation inevitably lead to significant increases in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. To better conserve resources and protect the environment, technologies for green buildings have evolved significantly in the past two decades. In this study, a scientometric analysis of green buildings research from 2003 to 2023 was performed using CiteSpace. A total of 1986 articles retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) core collection database were used as the data source for an in-depth analysis of research trends, hotspots, and future directions, showing changes in publication numbers, core journals, key countries, and institutions that have made remarkable contributions in this field. The results showed that the field of green buildings research is in a phase of rapid growth. The current research hotspots include the adoption of the green buildings paradigm, rating systems, energy performance, greenhouse gas emissions, indoor environmental quality, and green roofs/walls. Based on the keywords citation bursts and literature review, we believe that government promotion measures, use of renewable energy, integration with plants, and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in green buildings will be the most promising development directions in the future.