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The bright lights of the city often lure people in with promises of a better way of life.

Today, around 3.9 billion people around the world live in towns and cities, with the global urban population growing by about one million people each week.

But while urban dwellers may have better access to doctors and hospitals, there are growing concerns that city-living is severely damaging to health.

Rat race: The Paris-based International Council for Science has launched a programme that aims to understand how a city environment can be changed to improve the health of its residents

Now, scientists at the International Council for Science have launched a global programme to find out exactly how factors such as pollution, overcrowding and crime are affecting overall wellbeing.

The 'Urban Health and Wellbeing Programme' hopes to understand what makes a 'healthy urban environment', according to a report by Mark Kinver in the BBC.

'We are facing global epidemics of non-communicable diseases - heart disease, diabetes and so on - and mental health problems,' Professor Anthony Capon, director of the UN University's International Institute for Global Health, told the BBC.

Packed: The programme claims that city-dwellers have higher rates of mental illness due to stress and social isolation. Those living in cities also suffer worse from impacts from car pollution 

'We are also seeing the health impact of climate change, such as heat-stress in cities and changes in the distribution of infectious vector-borne diseases.'

For instance, the programme claims that city-dwellers have higher rates of mental illness due to stress and social isolation.

It is also looking at how infectious diseases thrive when people are crowded together, or how they emerge when cities expand into surrounding areas.

'The demographic advantage of youth in such countries would be lost unless combined with healthy living' said Indira Nath, Chair of the Scientific Committee at the International Council for Science.

'Policy makers face the challenge of viewing healthy cities as 'systems' consisting of multiple subsystems along with the overarching super system of climate change.'  

But Professor Capon said that the programme could offer some hope, by combining expertise between scientists and urban planners on how to better develop cities.

The programme will look at everything from the design of public spaces and transport to improvements in housing and free city services.

Professor Capon says the key is understanding that cities are really about people.

'We are attracted to cities for economic, educational and social opportunities,' he said 'When we live in cities, they need to work for us. It is not just about the economic efficiencies.'