Kobe, Japan (CNN)--for the last several days, I was in the beautiful Kobe, Japan, reporting on the World Health Organization Forum on urbanization and health.
Since now more than half of the world's population lives in cities, the number is expected to grow significantly, impact on health of the individual are quite clear.Many in the debate here is particular about the quality of air we breathe and the news hasn't been great.
For starters, a report by the environmental protection agency found in air in many cities is simply too dirty to breathe; think about it: as things are now, toxic pollution has become a particular disease of urbanites in the world, affecting more than one billion people.
And if you look closely the effects of pollution, see is more than half of the cost for the health of human beings in developing countries are already overburdened with poverty and few resources.
As things stand now, toxic pollution has become a particular disease of urbanites in the world.--Dr. Sanjay Gupta
For example, here in Kobe, there is an obvious marriage between the industrial area filled with at least 15 large factories, and close to residential areas.Walking around the city, you can quickly see the consequences of explosive urban development; the combination of exhaust emissions from manufacturing plant to lorries, buses and cars is toxic to human health.
Today, the urban pollution kills one million people annually, according to the United Nations.And conventional wisdom was that it took a long time to develop health problems associated with pollution, but simply is not the case, a study published in 2007 found that the days when pollution is high, cities see spikes in emergency room visits during the next 24 hours.Only one day.
If you live in a city, chances are you might not even notice how infected has become the air show that within four days of dirty air breathing, your body becomes accustomed to this type, even though your airways becomes inflamed and more limited, and your risk of lung and heart problems started to rise.
The good news is that patches are tested in many cities of the world; in Shanghai, carbon-free downtown areas are established, which has already resulted in lower particulate emissions in New York, there is a ban idling truck and bus and in Bogotá, transport management policies have led to increased use of mass transit.
Having spent a year in many major cities in all continents of the world, it's safe to say "urbanisation" is here to stay; as individuals and as communities, however, is for us to try to make beautiful city that we live in a safer and healthier by.
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