Allergic to Cities

New research from the University of Rochester in New York suggests that children in urban areas are more likely to develop allergies than those in rural areas. The researchers believe that gut microbiomes and how they develop play a part in this bifurcation.

While the introduction of more healthy microbes in rural areas may play a part, I would also lean towards another path that could explain this divergence. I don’t know for sure so of course take it with a grain of salt, but exposure to particulates and exhaust that create polluted air as well as the prevalence of microplastics in cities is something I would seriously look at as a culprit.

Today walking back from dropping my daughter off at daycare, I noticed how many cars and big tech buses were driving down the street spewing emissions as they went. Of course it’s better for them to go together on the bus, but this is also a failure of our land use policies that we have to create different systems to take them to work.

I also lament the amount of plastics in food containers and packaging we see in stores but it also comes from tires and other outside sources in the urban environment. We don’t need to plastic wrap two ears of corn, people.

I’m making an educated guess at this because we know the amount of microplastics in human bodies has been going up over time. We also know that there are potential connections being made between particulate matter and emissions that are more prevalent in and created by cities with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other diseases.

But there is some hope for urban children and their lungs and ability to eat certain foods if elected leaders focus hard on the problem. We know that Paris has dramatically reduced air pollution in the city and low emissions zones in other cities have been reducing nitrogen pollution and other pollutants. Additionally, improvements like Caltrain’s electrification reduced black carbon particulates 89% and California warehouse rules are making trucks take trips away from neighborhoods.

For me, reduced emissions isn’t just about climate change, it’s about creating a culture of good health. And you shouldn’t have to live in a rural area to reduce the risk of growing up with allergies or respiratory issues, or cognitive impacts later in life. It’s in this way those that are slashing climate and environment funding and rules while promoting endless auto dependence fail us and our futures.

Also, as a note, I was able to find all the linked source material for the post above as I remembered them by looking into our news archive. Every news link we share below is saved in an archive and tagged by topic and city. There are now over 100,000 items. Premium subscribers get free access to that archive in addition to the Premium newsletter. Sign up today.