Sugar Smart, Heart Smart: The way Smart cities should be

India' ambitious Smart Cities Mission hopes to create a hundred “smart cities,” thus ushering in a new era of urban development in the country.[1] Smart cities need smart citizens, and smart citizens need to be healthy. Healthy citizens need to enjoy good metabolic, endocrine, and vascular health as to limit the impact of noncommunicable disease (NCD) such as diabetes and heart disease. Therefore, smart cities need to be Sugar Smart and Heart Smart as well.

While there is no universal definition of a Smart city, Indian guidelines mention that such a city should provide core infrastructure and offer decent quality of life, lean and sustainable environment, and “smart” solutions to its citizens. The core infrastructure, which includes institutional, physical, social, and economic aspects, is representative of the entire urban eco-system. Among the ten core elements listed by the government of India as part of a Smart city's infrastructure is “health and education.”[2]

Smart cities are also defined in terms of their information and communication infrastructure technology (ICT).[3] Indian government guidance for smart cities suggests various ways in which smart cities may harness ICT. These methods are termed “smart solutions.” The list of smart solutions includes telemedicine, among other. Smart cities can be identified by various characteristics, which spam all domains of infrastructure and life. Features of a Smart city include creation of “walkable” localities, which include road networks for pedestrians, and cyclists; preservation and development of open spaces such as park, playgrounds, and recreational spaces; creation of a city identity, which may be based on health, and application of smart solutions in various spheres of life.[2]

What does “smart” mean? The dictionary defines the adjective as “quick or prompt in action,” when applied to persons.[4] Smart citizens, of a Smart city, therefore, should be quick or prompt in actions to various stimuli, including health-related issues. Smart citizens should be able to harness ICT utilizing available institutional physical, social, and economic infrastructure for their benefit. This should allow them to maintain optimal health, with full use of preventive and curative services.

In the urban context, NCD is now the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Haryana's smart cities, Faridabad, and Karnal, for example, have the highest rates of obesity/overweight and diabetes in the state.[5] Any mission that aims to create smart cities must necessarily produce smart citizens as well. Smart citizens must be health smart in general, and Sugar Smart and Heart Smart in specific, if they are to prevent, manage, and contain the epidemic of NCD.

We discuss the ways in which smart cities can make themselves Sugar Smart and Heart Smart entities while trying to create a checklist of their essential attributes [Table 1]. This will create better health for their inhabitants, and allow them to build a unique brand identity as well.

Table 1 Attributes of a Sugar Smart, Heart Smart city

Institutional Political support Bureaucratic support Health sector (public and private) involvement Physical Facilities for exercise/physical activity Facilities for recreation/sports Facilities for safe usage/disposal of biomedical waste Social Facilities for healthy eating/healthy lifestyle includes tobacco cessation Facilities for stress management/yoga Active citizen involvement and feedback Medical Facilities for promotive care Facilities for preventive care Facilities for curative care Economic Services sector Manufacturing sector Wellness and health tourism industry Technology Tele-medicine Mobile medicine Smart collaboration between health and other sectors Media and social media Active media involvement Social marketing of concept Strong brand equity of city Research Research in diabetes/cardiology Research in urban planning/macro architecture Research in information/communication technology

• References

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