In this constantly evolving landscape of urbanization, the relationship between technology and automation, in regards to sustainability, holds immense significance. The intricate strands of human intelligence are seamlessly interwoven with the fabric of technological progress, giving rise to exquisite patterns of synergy and collaborative innovation. Automation is just another step in this process which started with the industrial revolution and now has paved way towards urbanization. Smart homes or home automation is a subset of Internet of Things (IoT) based automation that has added into the comfort, ease, and quality of our living standards and is now being integrated to form the concept of Smart Cities. In the past decade, various techniques and processes of smart home automation have been proposed and implemented. To extend and translate the existing methods into new one, the understanding of the former is imperative to the research procedure. This review stands as a comprehensive exploration, diving into the pivotal role of intelligent systems and expert knowledge in driving the transformation of smart homes into sustainable smart cities. By meticulously analyzing and aggregating an array of contemporary techniques used in smart homes, this paper offers profound contributions to the intersection of urban evolution and technological innovation. The review’s holistic approach not only facilitates a deep understanding of smart homes’ contributions but also charts a course for innovative strategies in city planning, infrastructure, and technological integration. In bridging the gap between technology and sustainable urban development, this exploration underscores the transformative power of leveraging smart home techniques to lay the foundation for harmonious and forward-thinking smart cities. The technologies cover a wide range of methodologies and intelligent systems used for communication, security and management in an urban infrastructure. The paper focuses on analysis of the technology to provide an outlook into achieving the goal of sustainable smart cities and deal with challenges like scalability and big data computation. Our comprehensive analysis yields a holistic set of technology comparisons and illuminates the promising future prospects within this domain. The information is highly insightful in creating a bigger picture for adopting state of the art technologies like Federated Learning (FL), Digital Twin and Embedded Edge computing in better planning and infrastructure management in smart cities. These findings offer reliable and potent methods to chart not only the course of research but also to enhance these technologies for the betterment of mankind’s convenience and advancement.