Assessment of Children’s Health and Climate Changes effects in Urban Spaces: A Review of Healthy and Smart Cities Viewpoint

This study addresses the serious challenges climate change poses to children’s well-being and explores the potential role of virtual reality (VR) in enhancing urban health. A systematic literature review, guided by PRISMA, mapped children’s needs in urban physical and digital environments. Analysis of 2,511 sources (n = 38 final studies) using VOS viewer software revealed 1,000 keyword clusters exposed an important difference between existing research and important topics for healthy smart cities (HSCs) for children. Key findings highlight critical gaps in effective climate change mitigation strategies tailored to children’s vulnerabilities and lack of their participation in urban planning. Mostly, the low occurrence of keywords such as children's health and smart cities shows a worrying gap. This requires a more focused approach, using technology, mostly virtual reality, to link these knowledge gaps. VR proposes a remarkable opportunity to simulate urban interventions and develop sustainable, resilient, and child-friendly spaces. Further studies are vital to study the role of VR in training for climate-related issues. This research goals to investigating the urban spaces that mitigate climate effects and vigorously support children’s inclusive well-being