Bridging smart technologies and healthy cities: A scoping review using WHO's 6P framework

Abstract

Urbanization's public health challenges have led to smart city initiatives, but the integration of these technologies within the World Health Organization's (WHO) Healthy Cities framework remains underexplored. This study maps the smart technologies employed for urban health and examines their alignment with the six components of the WHO framework: People, Place, Participation, Prosperity, Peace, and Planet. A scoping review of literature published between 2000 and 2024 was performed by searching five databases. Studies were included if they described smart technologies used for urban health and were published in English and peer-reviewed journal articles or conference papers. An analysis of 41 studies revealed that sensors, web applications, and machine learning were the most used technologies. Place-related technologies were predominant, focusing on environmental monitoring and infrastructure management. While the other themes were well represented, there was a notable absence of People and Participation-related technologies. This study provides comprehensive mapping of smart technologies within the WHO's framework, contributing to the goal of sustainable and healthy cities. Findings highlight the significant gap in human-centric and participatory approaches, emphasizing the need for more inclusive and equitable cities. Future research and policy should prioritize integrating underrepresented themes to better align with the WHO's Healthy Cities vision.