What is Evidence Synthesis

This chapter provides a view on the healthy city project that started in the 1980s. The healthy city project is a WHO initiative launched to incorporate health in the agenda of city governments. One of the main challenges in the project implementation is the evidence synthesis, especially at local levels. The author explores this limitation in the literature relevant to the healthy city project. The author conducted a narrative review to examine the position of different aspects of evidence-informed policymaking in the studied literature and documents. Four categories of research work were charted: Theoretical Framework, Guides, Measurement, and Evidence Use in Urban Planning. The chapter concludes that despite the increased efforts, there is a room for further development of knowledge-based policymaking. More attention to the actual practice of using evidence in policymaking and outputs of such a process should be given despite focusing on the inputs of the process.