Joshua Yi

Anthro 102 MW 12:45

12/14/15
In the essay, Human Health and the City, anthropologist Lawrence M. Schell discusses
the relationship between urbanism and human health. He explores the hazards of urban life to
human health in both biological and psychological spheres by regarding to the findings of both
preindustrial and postindustrial societies.
Schell starts his essay by looking into the transition from tribal, hunter and gatherer bands
to urban villages. This transition, catalyzed mainly by the advent of agriculture, brought about
substantial changes to the human way of life. Population levels saw a drastic increase as methods
of food production became more productive; a diet that had once been more varied turned into a
diet of less variety; humans had increased contact with animals due to domestication. These new
additions to human society, in addition to little or no sanitary standards, made for the
inevitabilities of infectious diseases. The increase in population size made it easier for diseases
bubonic plague, tuberculosis, and Hansen's Disease (leprosy) - to spread easily; a limited diet
consisting of an unvaried died made the possibility of famine more likely; increased interactions
with animals and pests rats, ticks, domesticated animals also helped with the easy spread of
disease.
The transition from pre-industrial societies to industrial/post-industrial societies saw
another tremendous swing to human health. Urban areas saw tremendous spikes in pollutants
carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, polybrominated biphenyls, sulfur, mercury,
nitrogen, lead, and others due to fossil fuel consumption, dumping of toxic waste,
agricultural/livestock mishappenings, and others. Stress levels, measured by adrenaline,

noradrenaline, and glucocorticoid levels, have seen an increase in urban areas compared to rural
areas. This is due to increased noise levels, stressors acquired from the workplace, or even
driving in traffic.
Although much has been said about the negative effects of urbanism to human health,
there are some things to consider in order to reach a fuller understanding. Cancer, heart disease,
and child growth have all seen some correlation to urbanism, however, the finding are not
consistent from city to city and country to country. This implies that there may be more things in
play. aside from urbanization, that influences these rates; one of them being lifestyle differences.
This goes to show that the advantage of human health is not completely determined by ones
residence in urban or rural areas, but rather, by the characteristics of the specific urban and/or
rural environments that are being compared.