Eco-mobility and urban morphology – a systematic scoping review and bibliometric investigation in sub-Saharan Africa

Sustainable urban development in Sub-Saharan Africa faces severe challenges from rapid urbanization and evolving mobility needs. Defined as non-motorized, low-carbon, and shared transport systems, eco-mobility offers a pathway towards inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities. The study presents a systematic scoping review and bibliometric analysis of 118 peer-reviewed publications from the Scopus database, dated from 2015 to 2023, to examine the relationship between eco-mobility and urban morphology. By using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer, the review mapped evolving keywords, key authors, and influential publications. Additionally, six main thematic clusters were identified, including smart technologies for sustainable communities, sociodemographic mobility factors, and policy frameworks for inclusive transport systems. With global interest in eco-mobility, the findings reveal a lack of context-specific research in African cities, particularly in terms of methodological approaches, sociodemographic diversity, and geographic representation. The paper provides a consolidated review of eco-mobility and urban morphology in Sub-Saharan Africa by identifying the global north bias, synthesizing key gaps, and proposing future research and policy agendas that emphasize context-sensitive approaches, spatial equity, low-carbon transitions, and sustainable land-use strategies to guide eco-mobility integration in Sub-Saharan Africa