WHCF 2023 featured a special program called the 'Big Question Project.'

In this project, speakers and key figures attending the 1st World Health City Forum were asked various questions regarding the definition and implementation of resilient and sustainable smart health cities. These questions were posed in a relay interview format, where responses from relevant experts were heard, followed by posing the next question to another speaker or expert.

The first relay interview was conducted by Professor Lawrence O. GOSTIN, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights.

Professor Lawrence Oglethorpe Gostin is a renowned expert in the field of public health law, currently serving as a professor of medicine at Georgetown University and professor of law at Johns Hopkins University. He is one of the most cited scholars in the field of public health law on Google Scholar and West Law and is also highly regarded in the legal field as well, ranking first among law professors in the United States and fourth globally in 2023.

Professor Lawrence drafted the Pandemic Treaty in collaboration with the WHO and the Intergovernmental Negotiation Body (INB), and as a Fulbright Fellow, he authored the U.S. Model State Emergency Health Powers Act. He is the founder of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and has served as the inaugural chair of the O'Neill Chair in Global Health Law. He is actively involved in the WHO's review panel for the revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR).

In response to questions from the World Health City Forum on a range of issues, including the definition of a healthy city, critical factors, barriers, standards, and indicators, Professor Lawrence defined a healthy city as one that provides the conditions for people's health and well-being, and argued that this requires improvements in many aspects, including air, water, food, transportation, industry, and social connections.

(For more information, see the video interview with Prof. Lawrence and related article.)

The Big Questions Project involved a series of interviews with eight experts who attended the World Health City Forum. The full content of the interviews will be released on the official World Health City Forum YouTube channel.