IDS 280: Urbanization, Health, and Environment of India
Course Description
In the six decades since independence, India has seen dramatic population growth, rapid urbanization, and attained the status of being the 4th largest, rapidly growing economy in the world. This rapid change has strained the country’s abilities to offer health, education basic housing and basic services to the vulnerable sections of Indian society. Population increase and urbanization have contributed to growing deforestation, ground water exploitation and contamination, air and drinking water pollution, and an overall deteriorating environmental condition in parts of India. As a consequence of these changes, India now has the largest number of malnourished children and is still fighting to stop the spread of several common diseases. This course will explore the issues and implications of population on health and the environment; examine past and present public policy and evaluate the steps India is taking to reach a more healthy and sustainable future.
Reading List
08/24/11 - SM/VK: Defining Urbanization: Urban Sprawl and Public Health
09/09/11 - SM: Environmental Nutrients and Human Health
Course Description
In the six decades since independence, India has seen dramatic population growth, rapid urbanization, and attained the status of being the 4th largest, rapidly growing economy in the world. This rapid change has strained the country’s abilities to offer health, education basic housing and basic services to the vulnerable sections of Indian society. Population increase and urbanization have contributed to growing deforestation, ground water exploitation and contamination, air and drinking water pollution, and an overall deteriorating environmental condition in parts of India. As a consequence of these changes, India now has the largest number of malnourished children and is still fighting to stop the spread of several common diseases. This course will explore the issues and implications of population on health and the environment; examine past and present public policy and evaluate the steps India is taking to reach a more healthy and sustainable future.
Reading List
08/24/11 - SM/VK: Defining Urbanization: Urban Sprawl and Public Health
- Reading 1. Schrecker, T, Labonte, R. & DeVogli, R. (2008). Globalisation and Health: the need for a global vision. The Lancet, 372, 1670-1676.
- Reading 2. Frumein, H., (2002). Urban Sprawl and Public Health. Public Health Reports, 117, 201 - 217
- Reading 3. Dissanayake, C. B., Rao, C. R. M., and Chandrajith, R., (2010). Some Aspects of the Medical Geology of the Indian Subcontinent and Neighboring Regions. In Selinus, O., Finkelman, R. B., and Centeno J. A., (Eds.). Medical Geology: A Regional Synthesis. Springer.
- Reading 4. Ved, R. (2010). Reducing Maternal Mortality. In S. Kumar, P. Panda & R. Ved (Eds.). Handbook of Population and Development. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
- Reading 5. Agarwal, B. (1997). Gender, Environment and Poverty Interlinks: Regional Variations and Temporal Shifts in Rural India, 1971-91. World Development, 25(1), 23-52.
- Draft of MGD paper due
- Reading 6. Acharyya S. K., and Shah, B. A., (2010). Groundwater and Arsenic Pollution Affecting Deltaic West Bengal, India. Current Science, 99(12), 1787-1794.
09/09/11 - SM: Environmental Nutrients and Human Health
- Reading 7. Gupta, S. K., Gupta, R. C., Chhabra, S. K., Eskiocak, S., Gupta, A. B., and Gupta, R., (2008). Health Issues Related to Nitrogen Pollution in water and air. Current Science 94(11), 1460-1477.
- Reading 8. Shetty, P.S. Nutrition transition in India. Public Health Nutrition: 5(1A), 175-182.
- Reading 9. Agarwal, S. & Taneja, S. (2005). All Slums are Not Equal: Child Health Conditions Among the Urban Poor. Indian Pediatrics, 45, 233-244.
- Reading 10. Swaminathan M. (2010). Population and Food Security. In S. Kumar, P. Panda & R. Ved (Eds.). Handbook of Population and Development. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
- Reading 11. Swaminathan, M.S. (2010). Beyond the Green Revolution. In M.S. Swaminathan’s, From Green to Evergreen Revolution: Indian Agriculture: performance and Challenges. New Delhi: Academic Foundation.
- Reading 12. Cordell, D., Drangert, J., White, S., (2009). The Story of Phosphorus: Global Food Security and Food for Thought. Global Environmental Change, 19, 292-305.
- Reading 13. National Academies Press. Chapter 7: Earth Perturbations and Public Health Impacts. In Earth Materials and Health: Research Priorities for Earth Science and Public Health, 99-111.
- ******** Take Home Exam Due ********
- Reading 14. Kapil, Y. Nikhil, S.V. & Pandav, C.S. (2011). Urbanization and Health Challenges: Need to Fast Track Launch of the national Urban Health Mission. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 36(1), 3-7.
- Reading 15. Swaminathan, M.S. (2010). Sustainability: Beyond the Economic Factor. In M.S. Swaminathan’s, From Green to Evergreen Revolution: Indian Agriculture: performance and Challenges. New Delhi: Academic Foundation.
- Reading 16. Johnston, R. B., Berg, M., Johnson, C. A., Tilley, E., Hering, J. G., (2011). Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries: Geochemical Aspects of Quality and Treatment. Elements, 7, 163-168.
- Reading 17. Dyson, T., Cassen, R. & Visaria, L. (2004). Lessons and Policies. In Twenty-First Century India. New York: Oxford University Press.
- ******** MDG Paper due *********
- Reading 18. Nagdeve, D. A., (2004). Urban Air Pollution and its Influence on Health in India. IIIPS Mumbai, 1(3).
- Reading 19. Bhattacharya, S., Sharma, C., Dhiman, R. C., and Mitra, A. P., (2006). Climate change and malaria in India. 90(3), 369-375.
- Reading 20. Pataki et al., (2011). Coupling Biogeochemical Cycles in Urban Environments: Ecosystem Services, Green Solutions, and Misconceptions, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 9(1): 27-3
- ******** Journal Due ********
- ******** SM EXAM ********
