City Life and Health

Healthful Vitality | 05/08/2021 | By WJ Emalka | City Life and Health

There are about 2 billion people in the world exposed to indoor air pollution. As a result, more than 4 million people die yearly from chronic respiratory diseases. Admittedly, these numbers are constantly on the rise. Indeed, this can be all summed up to one simple thing: changes in our lifestyles and living environment, which brings us to our topic: city life and its repercussions on health.

City Life and Health: How has Housing Changed Over the Ages?

Housing and architecture have changed dramatically, from animal skin tents to soaring skyscrapers. Notably, humans who were wandering hunters first decided to settle down in permanent settlements in the Neolithic period in 10,000 BC. These settlements slowly grew into towns and cities. However, up until the late 1700s, only 3% of the world’s population lived in cities. Then, the rapid changes during the industrial revolution drove people from rural dwellings to find work in the cities. Consequently, they settled there permanently to reap city life’s benefits, including employment and business opportunities. With this, more than half the world’s population had moved into cities by the early 21st century.

Before addressing health issues, it is crucial to understand why people move to cities. Was it by choice? Or were they forced to do so? The answer is that both factors played a role. With the increasing population, people could not each have their own houses with ten acres of land. No one denies there was no choice but to think smaller and concentrate on indoor luxuries rather than spacious gardens, especially in highly populated countries. People were forced to build vertically and move into apartment complexes that could house more people in less space. In the meantime, schools, hospitals, and other services also got concentrated in these “cities,” and the people who lived far found it difficult to fulfill their needs from home. So, urbanization became a change that none could oppose or ignore.

City Life and Health: Does It Really Affect Our Health and If So, How?

It really affects all aspects of our health

Remember the figures at the top of the page? Where we live can affect all aspects of our health, including physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. The associated health problems differ according to social class as well. However, they can broadly be categorized as problems due to unhealthy living conditions, problems due to sedentary lifestyles, and problems not related to socioeconomic factors that affect all city dwellers equally.

The majority of the poor live in slums or small unhygienic apartments

Notably, most of the poor in several cities live in slums or small unhygienic apartments. This situation is due to the limited availability of land and high real estate cost. But still, they choose to live within city limits as their very survival depends on the odd jobs that are easy to come by in the city. However, the living conditions are far from optimum. For example, lack of access to clean water and sanitation facilities is a huge problem. As a result, water and foodborne epidemics outbreaks are common in these areas. In addition, respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis are also rising due to overcrowding and lack of proper ventilation.

Higher prevalence of non-communicable diseases

The more financially stable people living in cities are less susceptible to these communicable diseases. However, it would be wrong to say that they only experience the positive effects of urban life. Indeed, many studies have proved a higher prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the urban population than in rural areas. Notably, research has confirmed with high significance levels that hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, obesity, and diabetes mellitus are rising. In addition, the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases is also higher in urban populations.

The problem of sedentary lifestyle, fast food consumption, and constant mental stress

This problem can be attributed to the sedentary lifestyle, fast food consumption, and constant mental stress. Most upper- to middle-class people living in cities have desk jobs with 8 to 5 shifts, and in most families, it is common for both parents to work. With their hectic schedules, they tend to depend more on junk food with a low nutritional value and more unhealthy fats and carbs. Also, their routine allows them no time to engage in proper physical exercise. The development of children can also be affected by less parental support.

Chronic respiratory diseases are inevitable parts of city life

Cities are home to many industries and smoke-emitting factories. Cities like Beijing, Lahore, Cairo, and Mexico City are covered in thick smog that prevents sunlight from falling. Citizens of some cities in China could see the blue sky after a gap of many years during the Covid-19 pandemic when all human activities came to a halt. Consequently, chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD and lung cancers are inevitable parts of city life. Additionally, impairment of the vitamin D production process due to low sunlight can affect bone health. The situation is worse in unplanned cities with high population densities. Also, roads can get congested in these cities, with queues of vehicles barely moving at all. Just think of how much carbon monoxide these vehicles emit every day!

City Life and Health: Mental, social, and spiritual aspects of health

“Health is not just being free of diseases,” the WHO says. It is not just physically fit, either. Mental, social, and spiritual aspects of health are also important. In cities, we have fewer interactions with our neighbors, even when the apartment doors face each other. There is no way to relax, go for a walk, and enjoy the beauty of nature. These little things are critical for good mental health, affecting our physical health. Sometimes, being confined to a small space all alone can go far as causing mental illnesses such as depression.

City Life and Health: What Can We Do About It?

Government support and community participation

Government support and community participation are necessary to escape being caught in these adverse outcomes. Should enact laws and legislation to govern the construction of new buildings within city limits. Besides, laws should regulate the minimum distance that should leave between two houses, the minimum floor area requirement to house a single person, and proper sewage disposal so that water streams are not contaminated.

Address ignorance and poverty, and provide mandatory education

Ignorance and poverty are significant issues among the urban poor. Most of the urban poor have lived in slums since childhood. They have not seen a world beyond that and view the high incidence of communicable diseases as usual. On top of that, their financial status does not allow them to find better accommodation in a new setting. If the government can provide them with housing loans or apartments at a low price, that can avert many of these outcomes. Health education is also mandatory in sustainable development and should do through public health workers.

City Life and Health: Attitudes in tackling the problem

Our attitudes in tackling this problem are also necessary. Indeed, it is wrong to think that being well-fed and having a cozy bed to sleep in brings about a healthy life. Suppose we can put a little bit of effort into waking up half an hour early to make our own breakfast instead of opting for takeaway, to find out the nearest gym and make it a habit to go there two to three times a week and to make sure that you get medical check-ups done regularly. That could be the difference between a dependent life as a stroke person and a happy retirement.

Become more eco-friendly

You might be surprised to know that some famous cities have worked hard to be more eco-friendly amidst all this. Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Berlin are high on this list. In Berlin, the government has promoted electric vehicles and installed over 400 charging stations within the city. In Copenhagen, only 29% of the people own motor vehicles, and everyone else uses cycles. The plan is to make it the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2025! Indeed, these aspects demonstrate how a combined effort by the government and the general public can make city life a bliss.

Conclusion

In a word, we cannot change the flow of the world. Urbanization will continue, and urban architecture will continue to be a part of our lives. It is predicted that more and more people will settle in cities in the future. With the help of all stakeholders, including politicians, local leaders, engineers, architects, and the general public, we can stride towards an era of eco-friendly urban architecture.

Related Article: Using Urban Architecture to Build Health-Friendly Living Environments

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