Compact city policy applications are expanding rapidly worldwide, and so is research on the topic. This review sampled 92 publications from the last 5 years mentioning this model in their titles. A theme-centric approach was used to analyze them in order to shed light on three central questions: how do recent contributions understand and operationalize the composition of compact cities? How do they enhance existing knowledge about the model's externalities and impacts on sustainability objectives? And finally, what lessons can be learned regarding strategies of implementation and how they map onto persistent challenges and evolving policy instruments?
AbdullahiSalehPradhanBiswajeet. 2018. “Land Use Change Modeling and the Effect of Compact City Paradigms.” Environmental Earth Sciences77 (6): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7429-z.
2.
AdelfioMarcoKainJaan-HenrikThuvanderLianeStenbergJenny. 2018. “Disentangling the Compact City Drivers and Pressures: Barcelona as a Case Study.” Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography72 (5): 287–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/00291951.2018.1547788.
3.
AhlfeldtGabrielPietrostefaniElisabetta. 2018. “Demystifying Compact Urban Growth.” London and Washington, DC.
4.
ArtmannMartinaBastianOlafGrunewaldKarsten. 2017. “Using the Concepts of Green Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services to Specify Leitbilder for Compact and Green Cities.” Sustainability9 (2): 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9020198.
5.
AugustaI.JerryN.JustusN.. 2018. “Appraisal of Smart City, Compact/Resilient City and Sustainable City.” Research Journal of Environment1 (August): 52–61. https://doi.org/10.36265/rejoen.2018.010107.
6.
AzmiNurulOsmanMarianaRabeNoorRamlanNuranisaAzizanAininaAmiruddinSuraya. 2021. “A Comparative Analysis of Land Use and Compact City Principles and Guidelines on Rail Public Transit Stations in Malaysia.” Planning Malaysia19 (1): 186–99. https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v19i15.935.
7.
BalikciStellaGiezenMendelArundelRowan. 2021. “The Paradox of Planning the Compact and Green City: Analyzing Land-Use Change in Amsterdam and Brussels.” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management65 (September): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1971069.
8.
BayJoo. 2017. “Compact City and Sustainable High-Density Living: Social-Environmental Holistic Approach.” In Growing Compact, 94–110. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis.
9.
BeenackersMariëlleGroenigerJoostKamphuisCarlijinVan LentheFrank. 2018. “Population Density and Mortality in a Compact Dutch City.” European Journal of Public Health28: 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.06.010.
10.
BhagwatJayeshkumarDevadasVaruvel. 2020. “Planning for a Sustainable Compact : A Way Forward.” In Sustainable Development and Planning XI, 113–22. Ashurst, Southampton, UK: WIT Press.
11.
BibriSimon Elias. 2020a. “The Compact City Paradigm and Its Centrality in Sustainable Urbanism in the Era of Big Data Revolution.” In Advances in the Leading Paradigms of Urbanism and Their Amalgamation, 9–39. Switzerland: Springer Nature.
12.
BibriSimon Elias. 2020b. “Advances in Compact City Planning and Development.” In Advances in the Leading Paradigms of Urbanism and Their Amalgamation, 41–69. Switzerland: Springer.
13.
BibriSimon EliasKrogstieJohnKarrholmMattias. 2020. “Compact City Planning and Development: Emerging Practices and Strategies for Achieving the Goals of Sustainability.” Developments in the Built Environment4: 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dibe.2020.100021.
14.
BoeveM.2019. “Environmental Law Tools for the Idea of a Compact City.” In International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2018, vol. 2018, 113–29. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
15.
BouwmanM.2019. “Changing Mobility Patterns in a Compact City: Environmental Impacts.” In Compact Cities and Sustainable Urban Development, 229–40. New York: Routledge.
16.
BramleyGlenDempseyNicolaPowerSineadBrownCarolineWatkinsDavid. 2009. “Social Sustainability and Urban Form: Evidence from Five British Cities.” Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design41 (9): 2125–42. https://doi.org/10.1068/a4184.
17.
BrownDonald. 2017. Challenging the Conceptual Boundaries of the Compact City Paradigm in Sub-Saharan Africa. London: University College London.
18.
BunkerRaymondCrommelinLauraTroyLaurenceEasthopeHazelPinnegarSimonRandolphBill. 2017. “Managing the Transition to a More Compact City in Australia.” International Planning Studies22 (4): 1–16. Managing the Transition to a More Compact City in Australia.
CamposMariaKainJaan-HenrikOlokoMichaelStenbergJennyZapataPatrik. 2021. “Urban Qualities and Residents’ Strategies in Compact Global South Cities: The Case of Havana.” Journal of Housing and the Built Environment37 (May): 529–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-021-09856-7.
21.
ChapmanRalphSobieckiLucia. 2020. “Car Sharing In a Compact City: Pinning Down the Benefits and Barriers.” Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences Research2: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.47363/JEESR/2020(2)123.
22.
ChenShanshanHaaseDagmarXueBingWellmannThiloQureshiSalman. 2021. “Integrating Quantity and Quality to Assess Urban Green Space Improvement in the Compact City.” Land10 (12): 1367–80. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10121367.
23.
ConticelliElisa. 2020. “Compact City as a Model Achieving Sustainable Development.” In Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 100–8. Switzerland: Springer.
24.
CrommelinLauraBunkerRaymondTroyLaurenceRandolphBillEasthopeHazelPinnegarSimon. 2017. “As Compact City Planning Rolls on, a Look Back: Lessons from Sydney and Perth.” Australian Planner54 (2): 35–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2017.1319869.
GarciaEmilioValeBrenda. 2017. “Compact Cities.” In Unravelling Sustainability and Resilience in the Built Environment, 116–40. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
27.
GeschkeAndrewJamesSimonBennettAndrewNimmoDale. 2018. “Compact Cities or Sprawling Suburbs? Optimising the Distribution of People in Cities to Maximise Species Diversity.” Journal of Applied Ecology55 (5): 2320–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13183.
28.
GiddingsBobRogersonRobert. 2021. “Compacting the City Centre.” Buildings and Cities2 (1): 185–202. http://doi.org/10.5334/bc.74.
29.
GrenÅsaColdingJohanBerghauser-PontMetaMarcusLars. 2019. “How Smart Is Smart Growth? Examining the Environmental Validation behind City Compaction.” Ambio48 (6): 580–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1087-y.
30.
GrodachCarlLimbMark. 2020. “Compact City Reset: Towards Alternatives to Market-Driven Density.” Urban Policy and Research38 (4): 287–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2020.1827543.
31.
HamiduddinIqbal. 2017. “Journey to Work Travel Outcomes from ‘City of Short Distances’ Compact City Planning in Tübingen, Germany.” Planning Practice and Research33 (4): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2017.1378980.
32.
HautamäkiRanja. 2019. “Contested and Constructed Greenery in the Compact City: A Case Study of Helsinki City Plan 2016.” Journal of Landscape Architecture14 (1): 20–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/18626033.2019.1623543.
33.
HavrylenkoOlenaShyshchenkoPetroTsyhanokYevhen Y. 2021. “The Green Infrastructure within the Framework of a Compact City Concept.” Journal of Geology, Geography and Geoecology30 (2): 275–88. https://doi.org/10.15421/112124.
34.
HofstraH.2019. “Soil Sanitation: The Link with Urban Planning.” In Compact Cities and Sustainable Urban Development, 99–110. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
35.
HouJunSongYan. 2018. “Compact Development in Hong Kong.” In Vertical Urbanism - Designing Compact Cities in China, 170–88. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
36.
IhlebaekCamillaNaessPetterStefansdottirHarpa. 2020. “Are Compact Cities a Threat to Public Health.” European Planning Studies29 (6): 1021–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2020.1775790.
37.
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40.
JenksM.WilliamsK.BurtonE.. 2019. “Urban Consolidation and the Benefits of Intensification.” In Compact Cities and Sustainable Urban Development, 17–30. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
41.
KainJaan-HenrikAdelfioMarcoStenbergJennyThuvanderLiane. 2021. “Towards a Systemic Understanding of Compact City Qualities.” Journal of Urban Design27 (1): 130–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2021.1941825.
42.
KainJaan-HenrikStenbergJennyAdelfioMarcoOlokoMichaelThuvanderLianeZapataPatrikCamposMaría José Zapata. 2020. “What Makes a Compact City? Differences Between Urban Research in the Global North and the Global South.” Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration24 (4): 25–49. https://publicera.kb.se/sjpa/article/view/8581.
43.
KimDongYooSeunghyun. 2019. “How Does the Built Environment in Compact Metropolitan Cities Affect Health?” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health16 (16): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162921.
KorurZülal Nurdan. 2020. “Compact City Concept from the Viewpoint of Place-Making.” In WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, vol. 241, 419–28. Ashurst,Southampton,UK: WIT Press.
46.
KotullaTheresaDenstadliJon MartinOustAreBeuskerElisabeth. 2019. “What Does It Take to Make the Compact City Liveable for Wider Groups?” Sustainability11 (12): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11123480.
47.
LarasatiFinkyRarasatiAyomiSihombingAntony. 2020. “Application of the Compact City Concept in Caturtunggal Educational Area.” E3S Web of Conferences200: 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020003001.
48.
LeeJinLimSeunghoo. 2018. “The Selection of Compact City Policy Instruments and Their Effects on Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Transportation Sector: The Case of South Korea.” Sustainable Cities and Society37: 116–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.11.006.
49.
LehmannSteffen. 2017. “The Challenge of Transforming a Low-Density City into a Compact City: The Case of the City of Perth, Australia.” In Growing Compact, 69–93. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
50.
LiaqatHussainWaheedAbdulMalikNaeem AsgharVohraImtiaz Ahmed. 2017. “Measuring Urban Sustainability through Compact City Approach.” Journal of Sustainable Development Studies10 (2): 61–81. https://infinitypress.info/index.php/jsds/article/view/1617.
51.
LimbMarkGrodachCarlMayereSeverineDonehuePaul. 2020. “Rethinking the Implementation of the Compact City: Factors Affecting Compact Activity Centre Policy Conformance in Greater Brisbane, 1996 to 2016.” Urban Policy and Research38 (4): 291–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2020.1792284.
52.
LinZhongjie. 2018. “Re-Conceptualizing the Compact City.” In Vertical Urbanism - Designing Compact Cities in China, 3–18. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
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56.
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MonkkonenPaavoMontejanoJorgeGuerraErickCaudilloCamilo. 2019. “Compact Cities and Economic Productivity in Mexico.” Urban Studies57 (10): 2080–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980198698..
58.
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MouratidisKostas. 2021. “COVID-19 and the Compact City: Implications for Well-Being and Sustainable Urban Planning.” The Science of the Total Environment811: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152332.
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65.
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66.
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