Integrating Cultural Heritage, Place Making, and Smart City Development: A Conceptual Framework

Integrating smart technologies into historic cities presents a challenge, as they must balance modernisation with cultural heritage preservation. This study explores the intersection of urban cultural heritage and smart city development through a multidisciplinary literature review encompassing urban planning, smart technologies, heritage conservation, and place making. Using qualitative content analysis, key themes and patterns were identified to construct a conceptual framework. The findings reveal that cultural heritage sites play an active role in smart city planning by reinforcing historical identity and promoting urban sustainability. Additionally, the study highlights a gap in smart city frameworks, which often overlook cultural heritage preservation. The proposed framework offers insights for local governments and urban planners to develop culturally responsive smart cities while acknowledging the challenges of cross-city data comparisons due to varying contexts.