Urban health: a new discipline

The question remains whether this defect is genetic or perhaps acquired during embryogenesis, and the possibility that the defect is secondary to cholestasis cannot be ruled out.

Abstract

City living is a reality for many and is rapidly becoming so for most of the world's population. More than half the world's population will be living in urban areas before the end of this decade and nearly two-thirds will live in urban areas within 30 years. 1 United Nations Population DivisionWorld urbanization prospects: the 1999 revision. United Nations Population Division, New York2000 Google Scholar Although North America and Europe are the world's most urbanised regions, most of the global urban population is on other continents. In 2000, the number of urban dwellers in the least urbanised region, Asia, was already greater than the urban population in North America and Europe combined, and most of the growth in urban populations will take place in less wealthy regions, particularly in Asia and Africa. 2 Satterthwaite D Coping with rapid urban growth. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Leading Edge Series, LondonSeptember, 2002http://www.rics.org/downloads/research_reports/urban_growth.pdf Google Scholar , 3 Gelbard A Haub C Kent M World population beyond six billion. Popul Bull. 1999; 54: 1-44 PubMed Google Scholar