How context shapes urban design paradigms: the American and European cases (1960–1979)

Early-career researchers may overlook aspects in their literature reviews, including where, when, why, and for whom urban design paradigms were produced and developed. Drawing on insights from text-context interplay in social sciences, this article examines the superficial engagement with the historical and cultural contexts of American and European urban design paradigms. The aim is to introduce a five-step framework that enables early-career researchers to systematically integrate historical and societal factors into literature reviews of urban design paradigms. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 30 documents in urban design and social sciences – 16 from 1960 to 1979 to examine historical differences, and 14 from 2004 to 2024 to inform the development of the proposed framework. The findings identify four key contextual dimensions in social science literature – conceptual focus, contextual components, influencing factors, and scholarly contributions – that shape textual interpretation. A case study of urban design paradigms yields five principles for conducting contextual analysis: clear identification, specific consideration, examination of influence, recognition of power dynamics, and application of critical perspectives. This study contributes to urban design discourse by proposing a five-step framework that supports early-career researchers in systematically contextualising their interpretations within urban design paradigms, thereby enhancing both theoretical clarity and practical relevance.