Research trends in the application of big data in smart cities—A literature review

Abstract

In this study, we review articles published in academic journals. in the last 5 years at the intersection of big data and the smart city context. Based on a dataset of 192 articles, we use content analysis to identify recent trends and future research directions. The most influential research areas identified include using big data analytics, electric vehicle integration, and citizen-centric big data, while the most recent research area that emerged is green space. Our results highlight how big data can influence eight different dimensions of smart cities, with smart mobility attracting the most attention from researchers in the application of big data in smart cities. In contrast, smart people and smart economy are the least explored dimensions from this perspective.