Today we review the state of the environment and health in the most quickly growing (and largest) cities in the world that have come about because of a massive shift from rural to urban areas where migrants make up 40% of the population. A major health threat comes from the parallel increase in industry and increase in the use of vehicles which affect outdoor air quality and is the cause of 400,000 premature deaths each year which becomes even more critical in a society that is aging faster (and is older) than the global average (by 2050, median age expected to be 50 vs 38 years). The paper under review calls for more stringent regulation of industrial and vehicle emissions.
Key Quotes:
“China has seen the largest human migration in history… a rise in urban population from 191 million in 1980, to 622 million in 2009.. more than 1500 people per km2”
“Urban environmental quality, including air and water pollution, contributes to disease both in urban and in rural areas, and traffic-related accidents pose a major public health threat as the country becomes increasingly motorized”
“Despite the speed and scale of Chinese urbanisation, the process has been distinguished by the absence of widespread proliferation of urban slums seen commonly in expanding urban areas in other developing country settings”
“Urbanisation can also promote neuropsychiatric disorders, which are a leading cause of disease burden in China—an estimated 17% of the adult population has one or more mental disorders.Urban environments present psychological stressors such as noise and social isolation, and Chinese migrant populations could be especially vulnerable to their effects”
“access to piped drinking water increased from 48% of the urban population in 1990, to nearly 94% in 2007.. urban areas encroaching on rural communities will put pressure on nearby rural water supplies, which are less developed. To secure safe, reliable water supplies in line with future urban growth is one of the most pressing challenges for China's planners”
“Outdoor air pollution is associated with more than 400 000 premature deaths per year in China.. Vehicle emissions—including ozone and respirable particles—are major contributors to photochemical smog and spread from highly urbanised to nearby rural areas”
“traffic-related accidents and injuries remain the country's leading cause of injury-related deaths.Cyclists and pedestrians are especially at risk, and make up 60% of traffic-related deaths.”
“By 2050, China's median age is projected to be 49·8 years, higher than the projected median ages of the global population(37·8), India (38·6), USA (44·1), Brazil (45), and the European Union (47), and slightly less than that of Japan (52·5).”
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