Integrated Analysis of Urban Planning, Energy, and Decarbonization Through a Systematic and Multivariate Approach, Identifying Research Trends in Sustainability in Latin America

Cristian Cuji (), Luis Tipán, Monica Dazzini and Jessica Guaman-Pozo
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Cristian Cuji: Electrical Engineering Department, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, South Campus, Av. Rumichaca and Av. M. Valverde, Quito 170702, Ecuador
Luis Tipán: Electrical Engineering Department, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, South Campus, Av. Rumichaca and Av. M. Valverde, Quito 170702, Ecuador
Monica Dazzini: Faculty of Socio-Environmental Sciences, Sustainable Architecture Department, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Parroquia Muyuna, Kilometro 7 via a Alto Tena, Tena 150101, Ecuador
Jessica Guaman-Pozo: National Directorate of Doctoral Studies, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Avenida 12 de Octubre 1076 y Vicente Ramón Roca, Quito 170525, Ecuador

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: This study analyzes the intersection of energy, urban planning, decarbonization, and sustainability as a central axis for addressing urban development challenges in Latin America. A systematic search of the Scopus database selected 509 articles published between 2019 and 2024. The documents were thematically classified into urban planning (274), energy (79), and decarbonization (147), identifying only 10 studies that simultaneously integrate at least two of these dimensions in Latin American contexts. While this sample of 10 articles does not allow for generalizations about the region, the article selects representative cases to contextualize the type of research conducted, rather than offering extrapolable results. An exploratory multivariate analysis was applied to identify patterns, thematic gaps, and convergence trends, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimensionality of the set of key concepts and Hierarchical Clustering (HCC) to group terms according to their semantic proximity. These results are complemented by co-occurrence and thematic concentration maps generated from keywords extracted from the selected articles. The findings reveal a low level of integration among the topics analyzed, justifying the need to establish new lines of interdisciplinary research. The study proposes a replicable analytical tool that guides future regional research and contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Keywords: energy transitions; decarbonization; urban sustainability indicators (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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