Multidimensional Welfare Determinants in Urban Slums: A Bibliometric Analysis
Abstract
Urban slums constitute a persistent epicenter of multidimensional deprivation, arising from the complex and mutually reinforcing interactions among economic, social, health, and environmental conditions. Although scholarly attention to slum welfare has expanded substantially over the past decade, the literature remains theoretically and methodologically fragmented across disciplinary boundaries, constraining cumulative knowledge development. This article undertakes a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the global scientific literature on multidimensional welfare in urban slums, drawing on peer-reviewed publications indexed in the Scopus database between 2010 and 2023. Bibliometric techniques implemented through the bibliometrix package and the Biblioshiny interface in R are employed to examine publication trajectories, leading journals and authors, spatial distribution of research outputs, collaboration patterns, and the underlying conceptual structure of the field. The results indicate a pronounced and sustained increase in research activity since the mid-2010s, accompanied by increasing thematic diversification and interdisciplinary convergence. Four dominant knowledge clusters are identified: (i) economic deprivation, informal employment, and livelihood insecurity; (ii) social capital, exclusion, and participatory dynamics; (iii) health vulnerabilities associated with inadequate sanitation, housing quality, and service access; and (iv) environmental risk, infrastructural deficits, and spatial exposure. Emerging research fronts emphasize the growing application of spatial and digital technologies such as GIS and volunteered geographic information as well as heightened attention to gender, migration, and power relations shaping slum upgrading outcomes. By mapping the intellectual landscape and its evolution, this study offers a structured synthesis to guide future empirical inquiry and to support the design of more integrated, inclusive, and evidence-informed urban welfare policies.