Work

Integrating Cultural Heritage into Smart City Development Through Place Making: A Systematic Review

Year: 2025

Type: review

Abstract: Balancing modernisation with cultural heritage preservation remains a core challenge in integrating smart technologies into historic cities. This study conducts a systematic literature review and qualitative content analysis of 42 peer-reviewed articles across the fields of urban planning, smart technologies, heritage conservation, and place making to address this issue. Through thematic coding using MAXQDA (2020), it identifies recurring themes and patterns that inform the development of a conceptual framework. The findings reveal that cultural heritage sites contribute to smart city planning by reinforcing place-based identity, enabling participatory governance, and supporting culturally sustainable innovation. The study also addresses a critical gap in existing smart city frameworks, which often fail to systematically incorporate cultural values and local identity in their planning logic. The proposed framework integrates cultural heritage with smart city development through place making and provides structured guidance for policymakers and urban planners by outlining four key areas—digital infrastructure, community participation, spatial design, and heritage preservation—while also acknowledging the challenges of applying it across diverse socio-cultural and technological contexts.

Source: Urban Science

DOI: 10.3390/urbansci9060215

Authors: Elika Tousi, Surabhi Pancholi, Md Mizanur Rashid, Chin Koi Khoo

Institution: Deakin University

Language: English

Topic: Urban Development and Cultural Heritage

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,930