Last month I looked at a possible transport solution for large, densely pulated cities like London. However, having just returned from a trip to Tehran, these problems seem minute in comparison to the issues facing those living in such condensed urban areas. The Iranian capital's setting is dominated by cars and concrete. Thick smog veils the city's landscape, acquiring an unimaginable density the further downtown you venture. During my stay I heard numerous complaints of illnesses caused by the growing pollution in this vast city. A 28 year old who had returned from a chest X-ray said that his lungs were diagnosed as being as pollut-ed as someone who smokes 40 cigarettes a day. I myself suffered from various degrees of migraine whenever I ventured downtown. People there joke that there are more cars than people in the city and it is easy to take this as fact.
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