This paper provides a comprehensive review of IoT-based management in smart cities, exploring the architecture, applications, global examples, standards, success metrics, and challenges. It highlights the benefits of IoT integration in enhancing urban domains such as healthcare, transportation, energy, education, environment, and logistics. The paper discusses the generalized architecture of IoT in smart cities, including the perception, network, and application layers, and evaluates various metrics to assess the success of smart city projects. It also examines real-world applications of IoT in urban management, emphasizing their advantages, practical impacts, and associated challenges. The research methodology involves addressing six key questions to explore IoT architecture, impacts on efficiency and sustainability, insights from global examples, critical standards, success metrics, and major deployment challenges. These findings offer valuable guidance for practitioners and policymakers in developing effective and sustainable smart city initiatives. The study significantly contributes to academia by enhancing knowledge, offering practical insights, and highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research for urban innovation and sustainability.This paper provides a comprehensive review of IoT-based management in smart cities, exploring the architecture, applications, global examples, standards, success metrics, and challenges. It highlights the benefits of IoT integration in enhancing urban domains such as healthcare, transportation, energy, education, environment, and logistics. The paper discusses the generalized architecture of IoT in smart cities, including the perception, network, and application layers, and evaluates various metrics to assess the success of smart city projects. It also examines real-world applications of IoT in urban management, emphasizing their advantages, practical impacts, and associated challenges. The research methodology involves addressing six key questions to explore IoT architecture, impacts on efficiency and sustainability, insights from global examples, critical standards, success metrics, and major deployment challenges. These findings offer valuable guidance for practitioners and policymakers in developing effective and sustainable smart city initiatives. The study significantly contributes to academia by enhancing knowledge, offering practical insights, and highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research for urban innovation and sustainability.