Introduction Urban wayfinding systems function as a critical yet conceptually unevenly consolidated component of urban infrastructure, shaping mobility, accessibility, and socio-spatial inclusion in rapidly transforming cities. Although inclusive and sustainable urban development under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) emphasizes equitable and accessible cities, the intellectual architecture of wayfinding research remains predominantly consolidated around spatial–cognitive and technical paradigms. This study investigates how cultural constructs are positioned within the intellectual structure underpinning urban wayfinding research. Methods A diagnostic urban analytics approach was employed using bibliometric mapping of a Web of Science based analytical dataset (n = 120; 1995–2025), derived from a broader screened corpus. Analytical techniques included performance indicators, keyword co-occurrence networks, bibliographic coupling, thematic mapping, and temporal evolution analysis. These methods were applied to model conceptual centrality, citation authority, and geographical concentration within the field’s knowledge structure. Results Findings indicate strong field-level cohesion around spatial configuration, environmental legibility, and cognitive mapping within dominant thematic clusters. In contrast, cultural identity and sustainability-related constructs occupy peripheral or weakly consolidated positions in the thematic network. Thematic evolution analysis demonstrates limited longitudinal integration of culturally grounded navigation constructs into central research trajectories. Geographical production and collaboration patterns further reveal concentration within a limited group of countries, reflecting asymmetries in global urban knowledge networks and uneven participation in knowledge production. Discussion By modelling wayfinding research as a knowledge architecture, the study clarifies how thematic centrality influences the visibility and integration of cultural constructs within urban design discourse and governance frameworks. The observed consolidation around spatial–cognitive paradigms constrain the systematic incorporation of culturally grounded wayfinding practices into infrastructure standardization and planning instruments. These findings contribute to urban analytics by identifying systemic patterns of differentiated thematic consolidation that shape inclusive wayfinding practices, with implications for SDG 11 and inclusive urban knowledge systems.
Selvaraj et al. (Wed,) studied this question.