A SCIENTOMETRIC ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION OF GREEN BUILDING RESEARCH IN AFRICA

Owing to the adverse impact of the architecture, engineering and construction industry on the human and natural environment, the adoption of green building (GB) has been on the rise globally. The significant rise in the number of global research output on GB is a pointer to its proliferation. In this paper, a novel scientometric analysis of GB research in Africa is presented. This study aims to analyze and visualize GB research output in Africa from the millennium development goals (MDGs) era up to the present sustainable development goals (SDGs) era. A quantitative method (science mapping) was employed to analyze the 156 bibliometric records gathered from the Scopus database. An analysis of the dataset reveals that significant contributions to GB research in Africa originate from Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana, Morocco, Kenya, Mauritius, Ethiopia and Cameroon. This research provides stakeholders in the built environment with the requisite knowledge and understanding of the trend and state of GB research in Africa, which will help in guiding policymaking, research directions and intervention areas in every sector of the economy.