The Metaverse, the Built Environment, and Public Health: Opportunities and Uncertainties

Mohammad Javad Koohsari; Gavin R McCormack; Tomoki Nakaya; Akitomo Yasunaga; Daniel Fuller; Yukari Nagai; Koichiro Oka

doi:10.2196/43549

The Metaverse, the Built Environment, and Public Health: Opportunities and Uncertainties

J Med Internet Res. 2023 Feb 13:25:e43549. doi: 10.2196/43549.

Authors

Mohammad Javad Koohsari^{1

2}, Gavin R McCormack^{2

3

4

5}, Tomoki Nakaya⁶, Akitomo Yasunaga⁷, Daniel Fuller⁸, Yukari Nagai¹, Koichiro Oka²

Affiliations

¹ School of Knowledge Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Japan.
² Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Japan.
³ Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁴ Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁵ School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁶ Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
⁷ Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Bunka Gakuen University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁸ Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, SK, Canada.

PMID: 36780208
PMCID: PMC9972199
DOI: 10.2196/43549

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in the "metaverse," and discourse about how this platform may contribute to different fields of science is already beginning to emerge. In this paper, we discuss key opportunities and uncertainties about how a metaverse might contribute to advancing knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of the built environment and public health aimed at reducing noncommunicable diseases.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; augmented reality; epidemiology; health; health care; neighborhood; sport sciences; technology; urban design; virtual reality.

©Mohammad Javad Koohsari, Gavin R McCormack, Tomoki Nakaya, Akitomo Yasunaga, Daniel Fuller, Yukari Nagai, Koichiro Oka. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 13.02.2023.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Built Environment
Humans
Interdisciplinary Studies
Knowledge
Noncommunicable Diseases*
Public Health*

Grants and funding

FDN-154331/CIHR/Canada