Otaki Yurina, Otaki Masahiro, Sakura Osamu
Interfaculty Initiatives in Information Studies, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 133-0033, Japan.
J Water Health. 2007 Jun;5(2):259-65.
The importance of a water supply and sewage treatment for urban sanitation is recognized in the modern world. Their contributions to public health have not, however, been well demonstrated by historical data, especially in Asian cities. In this research, we focused on the Asian cities of Tokyo and Singapore, which both developed significantly in the 20th century. We analysed their development processes statistically to determine what the key elements for the protection of urban sanitation have been. Although both cities constructed modern water supply systems at almost same time (Tokyo in 1898 and Singapore in 1878), and similarly modern wastewater treatment systems (Tokyo in 1922 and Singapore in 1913), the prevalence of water-borne diseases in Tokyo was more serious than it was in Singapore, in spite of Singapore's high infant mortality rate. The main reason for this was the differences in the systems of night-soil transport. We found that the water supply system in itself was not enough to resolve all urban sanitation problems, and appropriate night-soil removal was also crucial. In addition, historical trends and water consumption vary by city, so the appropriate technology and system are also different according to the unique characteristics and needs of each.
现代社会已认识到供水和污水处理对城市卫生的重要性。然而，历史数据并未充分证明它们对公众健康的贡献，尤其是在亚洲城市。在本研究中，我们聚焦于20世纪发展显著的亚洲城市东京和新加坡。我们对它们的发展过程进行统计分析，以确定保护城市卫生的关键要素。尽管两个城市几乎同时建设了现代供水系统（东京于1898年，新加坡于1878年），并同样建设了现代污水处理系统（东京于1922年，新加坡于1913年），但尽管新加坡婴儿死亡率很高，东京的水传播疾病流行情况却比新加坡更为严重。主要原因在于夜粪运输系统的差异。我们发现，供水系统本身不足以解决所有城市卫生问题，适当的夜粪清除也至关重要。此外，不同城市的历史趋势和用水量各不相同，因此，根据每个城市的独特特点和需求，合适的技术和系统也有所不同。
