Catherine Yau

Professor Killebrew

ENGL 21003

2 March 2021

 

Scientific Rhetorical Analysis on Urbanization and its Effects on Human Health

 

Introduction

The scientific report “Urban growth, climate change, health hazards, and urban resilience: a brief literature review” by Buapun Promphakping, Yanyong Inmuong, Weerayuth Photaworn, Monchai Phongsiri, Kritsada Phatchanay reported the effects of urbanization and how climate change will affect human health. Many people downplay the severity of climate change because they are unaware of the negative impacts it has on human health. Urbanization is growing popular over time and the process of urbanizing an area can pollute the environment due to the materials being used. Humans can develop cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases, such as asthma, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart attacks, strokes, and many other diseases. Climate change is a global issue that needs to be resolved before it is too late.

Author

The authors of this research paper are Buapun Promphakping, Yanyong Inmuong, Weerayuth Photaworn, Monchai Phongsiri, Kritsada Phatchanay. These authors have either written multiple papers relating to the topic of climate change and human health, or they are knowledgeable on this topic. Although there was not much information about these authors, I was able to find different papers from them to prove their credibility in this field. Most of the papers written about climate change were published by a well-known organization called “International Institute for Environment and Development”. This organization helps people who are directly affected by the negative effects of climate change by giving the vulnerable group of people a voice to speak in decision-making arenas and conventions to address issues that will affect them in the long term.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to educate people about the negative effects of urbanization and how it is affecting people and the environment. The authors mention how the increase in urbanization causes extreme weather conditions that can affect people. For instance, floods, hurricanes, droughts, wildfires, and heatwaves can lead to diseases spreading, intensified pre-existing conditions, and an increase in mortality rates. The extreme weather caused by climate change can also endanger food and water sources for both humans and other living organisms. The author wanted to bring awareness to the severity of urbanization and how it plays a role in the negative changes in the climate that threatens human life and other living organisms in the future. Humans need to make better decisions to prevent the contribution to climate change.

Audience

The targeted audiences are the general public, the government, and landscapers. The authors explained how vulnerable groups are being affected by the pollution caused by new infrastructures and buildings built to urbanize different areas. Landscapers and the government are focused on reaping the benefits of urbanization. They do not take into account; the number of pollutants being emitted into the environment throughout the process of modernizing spaces, and the people who are being exposed to the toxic pollutants in the air may experience health complications. The government and landscapers are much aware of the harm it causes to both humans and the environment, but as long as they can make financial profits off their decisions, urbanization will continue to grow. The authors stated a line by David Harvey, that said, “social, cultural and physical landscape that built to accommodate new investment, for a further capital accumulation” reveals how the government and landscapers view the situation of climate change and the effects it has on humans when urbanization grows more common in today’s world.

Genre

The genre of this article is a scientific report, the authors use phrases such as, “in recent years, currently has the highest report, there is growing evidence, and one approach to understanding.” These phrases indicate the formality of this article and it summarizes their data found on this topic about urbanization affecting human health. 

Setting

The article was published on March 1, 2016. During this time, many news articles spoke about adapting to the changing environment, cutting out non-environmentally friendly resources such as coal, El Nino changing due to temperature changes, and NASA reported the earth was 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer. Climate change was a popular topic during this time, and companies and humans were attempting to make changes to protect the environment. The news was full of updates on climate change which encouraged people to take action.

 

Citations

PROMPHAKPING, B., INMUONG, Y., PHOTAWORN, W., PHONGSIRI, M., & PHATCHANAY, K. (2016). Climate change and urban health vulnerability (pp. 12-14, Rep.). International Institute for Environment and Development. doi:10.2307/resrep28992.8