Geography of Knowledge Production in European Urban Studies

Abstract

The production of scientific knowledge in urban studies is not evenly distributed. Studies produced in some academic centres are cited more frequently than others and have a larger impact on the academic community. This article traces the spatial concentration of urban studies in European countries over the last decade. On a theoretical level, it refers to the theory of dependent development, distinguishing areas of global core, periphery and semi-periphery, and applying this theory to the production of academic knowledge. Based on the bibliometric data of articles from selected renowned international journals, the article constructs a synthetic index of the centrality of academic knowledge production in urban studies, developed in the academic centres of individual countries. In particular, it draws attention to the peripheral or semi-peripheral position of almost all Central and Eastern European countries.

Keywords

• urban studies
• academic knowledge production
• centre–periphery relations
• Europe