Settlement patterns

Remote sensing of human settlement patterns has experienced an upward trend in volume especially during the current 21st “urban century.” This article employs a bibliometric analysis to provide a synthesis and summary of recent research in order to discern the overall structure and identify key clusters and themes. A bibliometric analysis of index keywords is applied to a sample of 254 peer-reviewed articles published during 2010-15. Interpretation of keyword term maps and network linkages of keyword co-occurrences reveals distinctive and multifaceted streams of contemporary research represented by three broad clusters: (1) finer scale intra-urban classification and technical method development related to buildings and settlements, (2) intermediate-scale land cover/use analysis and modeling of urban growth patterns integrated across human and biophysical domains, and (3) broader scale urban extent mapping and temporal monitoring. Selected subthemes of nighttime light imagery applications and informal and refugee settlements are reviewed, and their importance is discussed within the context of global environmental change and urban sustainability.