Goal attainment in urban ecology research: A bibliometric review 1975–2004

Abstract

We analyze a core literature of urban ecology (all articles published in Urban Ecology and Urban Ecosystems from 1975–2004, n = 261) to support a reflexive analysis of the field. We structure this critical analysis based on criteria derived from programmatic statements made by scientific societies, research funding organizations and academic institutions regarding what urban ecology should be. Specifically, we assess the extent to which the literature reflects, and has evolved to reflect, a commitment to Findings indicate that the literature strongly reflects these commitments, as these three tenets usefully describe the field and its evolution. We do, however, identify a tendency over time toward a more strictly disciplinary orientation. Ecological science is increasingly dominant and threatens to crowd out other scientific perspectives. This trend suggests that the field is maturing in the institutional sense, but perhaps at the cost of intellectual diversity, which many believe to be the basis of innovative solutions.