A review of the evaluation of urban wind resources: challenges and perspectives

•Urban wind resource is a promising renewable energy source.•The characteristics of urban wind are chaotic and full of turbulence.•Conventional wind mapping methodologies are not enough to judge the characteristics of urban wind.•An effective, precise, economic, and swift technique is essential for the assessment of urban wind.•Artificial intelligence including machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks are predicted to be the ultimate choice for urban wind mapping to ensure its commercialization.