Despite increasing attention to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the construction industry remains fragmented in its alignment with global sustainability targets. Existing works are dispersed across disciplines, limiting a clear understanding of dominant research themes and emerging directions. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the knowledge structure and identify future research trends of the SDGs within the construction industry.
A bibliometric science mapping analysis was conducted on 1,026 peer-reviewed journal articles published in English and indexed in the web of science (WoS) core collection. Citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and co-word analysis were performed to examine the intellectual structure and future research trends.
The citation analysis revealed five themes, the co-citation analysis identified six clusters and the co-word analysis produced six clusters. Additionally, five key themes were identified regarding the knowledge structure of the SDGs within the construction industry: sustainable construction practices, environmental policy and governance, sustainable urban and regional development, innovative technologies for sustainable construction and carbon efficiency in construction.
This study is original in offering a structured overview of how SDG research has evolved in construction and highlighting future areas that require further investigation.
