But also vastly reduced pollution. Popular Mechanics had a few articles about the extent of the problem in Los Angeles (which you can read for free):

http://books.google.com/books?id=SNkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA178&dq=sm...

http://books.google.com/books?id=xdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&dq=smo...

Now, it's true that pollution is still generally worse in poor areas compared to wealthier areas, but the pollution issue alone makes me prefer a "poor" lifestyle today over a "middle class" one from 50 or 60 years ago. We also have additional consumer protections for food and medicine compared to 60 years ago, which makes it hard to compare products across decades.