Table 1 Meta-narrative review principles and applications

Pragmatism

The review should address what will be most useful to the intended audience

The objective of this review is to understand the main paradigms in urban health. In a transdisciplinary field of research and practice, articulating the non-overlapping characteristics of different paradigms is critical to attain coherence and collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and paradigms.

Pluralism

The topic should be illuminated from multiple angles and perspectives

We explore the current knowledge base in various disciplines, including public health, urban planning, local/city governance, and urban studies. A list of relevant disciplines and journals will be drafted to utilise for the hand selecting of literature to avoid any exclusion of the disciplines.

Historicity

The deepest understanding of a topic comes from studying its evolution over time

The genealogy and clusters of the literature will be analysed using bibliometric methods. Landmark documents will be recorded and traced to study the evolution of the paradigms.

Contestation

Conflicting data from different research traditions should be examined to generate higher-order insights

Differences between the conceptualisation of urban health, causal pathways, methodological approaches, and policy solutions will be highlighted. Details on the application of this principle will be explored further in the data extraction, analysis, and synthesis phases.

Reflexivity

Reviewers should continually reflect on the emerging findings

The protocol will be updated to reflect the changes to the process as findings emerge. Any changes made to the review that were initially planned will be described and justified in the final report.

Peer review

Emerging findings should be presented and discussed with an external audience

The emerging findings will be communicated with peers via individual consultations with experts and presentations at conferences and meetings. A website will be developed as a platform for the wider community. to engage in the process as well as for dissemination of the findings.