Air quality is getting worse everywhere thanks to wildfires and the like, but my point was that you don't look at a city like NYC or Boston and see an orange haze from the smog and leaded gasoline emissions anymore.

The biggest issues with cities largely come down to cars, and having grown up in a summer beach hotspot, I can tell you that it can be just as bad out in the countryside. From noise pollution to emissions to traffic, you can largely thank cars for all of it. Road noise is actually one of the loudest things in a city. In places that have limited access to cars, you can immediately tell the difference.