Smart Cities and Healthcare: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objectives: The study reported in this article aimed to identify: (i) the most relevant applications supported by smart city infrastructure with an impact on the provision of healthcare; (ii) the types of technologies being used; (iii) the maturity levels of the applications being reported; and (iv) major barriers for their dissemination. Methods: A systematic review was performed based on a literature search. Results: A total of 44 articles were retrieved. These studies reported on smart city applications to support population surveillance, active ageing, healthy lifestyles, disabled people, response to emergencies, care services organization, and socialization. Conclusions: Most of the included articles were either of a descriptive and conceptual nature or in an early stage of development, which means that a major barrier for their dissemination is their lack of concreteness.

Introducing the “15-Minute City”: Sustainability, Resilience and Place Identity in Future Post-Pandemic Cities

“…On this front, modern technologies have become accessible and practical, especially due to availability of wearables (including those gathering biodata) and urban sensors and data collection techniques that not only allow people to keep tab of their health, but also provide large datasets that could be used to improve the liveability of the area. Finally, the land use approach of this concept gains from the use of technologies as it can optimally ensure that cities have sufficient land reserves for playgrounds, recreation areas and foot walk and bicycle lanes to achieve the desired dimensions [67] and for maintaining an optimal density that would be supported by available resources.. On this front, the use of Blockchain, smart contracts and fiscal instruments can be tallied to urban development rights and transaction costs to ensure both efficiency and performance while catering for long term policy agendas [68].…”

How Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Can Help Better Manage the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Srinivasa Rao and Vazquez [26] have described a framework based on an AI algorithm that would enable a quick identification of infected cases, performing a risk assessment and evaluation according to the symptoms and signs related to the novel coronavirus. This would be done via a webor mobile-based survey.…”

The Internet of Things: Impact and Implications for Health Care Delivery

“…The integration of urban infrastructures, IoT technologies, and cloud computing allows the collection and analysis of a vast quantity of different human and non-human-related data. These data could provide valuable information about population-level surveillance in diseases and accidents, risk factors, and environmental conditions [76], which is difficult to collect through the traditional human-reported disease surveillance system and can be of particular benefit in pandemic responses [77]. For example, in Taiwan, big data analytics applied to electronic data (GPS, closed-circuit television surveillance, and credit card payments) in the community and personal mobile data have been effectively used to contact trace, communicate, and isolate potential contacts during the global COVID-19 pandemic [78].…”

“…For example, in Taiwan, big data analytics applied to electronic data (GPS, closed-circuit television surveillance, and credit card payments) in the community and personal mobile data have been effectively used to contact trace, communicate, and isolate potential contacts during the global COVID-19 pandemic [78]. Through IoT and data linkage, decision makers are likely to be able to make evidence-based decisions in promoting healthy social and built environments, safe transportation systems, high-quality public services, and smart health care and emergency response systems [76,79,80].…”