You should write at least 250 words about the following topic.
The increasing housing problem in big cities has social consequences. Some people say that only government can solve this problem.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Model Essay 1:
It is a fact that population density and the increasing number of housing have created some social problems in many large cities. A group of people believe that the issue could only be solved by the government. I personally agree with the statement and the following essay will discuss it in details.
It is true that the increasing population in large cities such as Jakarta, New York or Beijing has created some social issues. Firstly, as the demand for houses in big cities increase, the price of properties has risen by double or triple in the past few years. This situation has affected to the middle and lower income class, as they could not afford to buy houses in the city. Most of them purchase properties in more developed areas of the city and consequently they have to spend more money on transportation to the workplace. Secondly, the high demand of housing areas has created some environment issues. As more houses are built in the cities, the number of parks and trees become lesser and lesser these days. As we all know that trees are beneficial for human beings, as they produce oxygen and absorb pollution. Consequently, air pollution in these cities has become worst than ever these days and the number of people who have respiration problem has increased.
In order to restore these conditions, it is the government task to restructure the city, as they are the one who has the power and the authority. The government should stop giving new permits for city developers. They should expand and develop new areas, therefore some of the city’s people will move to the new area and it will gradually reduce the density problem. And then, the government should set strict regulations about developing new real estates in the city, as there should be a proportionate ratio between building and green areas in the city. With a proportionate number of parks and buildings, it is hoped the city became greener and cleaner.
In conclusion, I agree that it is the government task to solve the social consequences of density issue. As they have the power and the authority to resolve the issue, they should set measurable campaigns and programs to resolve the problems.
[ Written by – Darwin Lesmana ]
Model Answer 2:
The population of the world is increasing each day and more and more people in most of the countries are moving to the big cities for the hope of a better life and this trend has an ultimate consequence of housing problem. I believe that government has a vital role to solve the problem by decentralising the big cities and by building industries in remote areas of the main cities.
The big cities of a country have more job opportunities than the rural and remote areas and this is the major reason people every day moving to big cities. Since most of the industries, office perimeters and other organisations are situated in the city areas and these create a high potential for all level of people to earn their living. The agriculture of the village are not profitable anymore and the over increasing price of agricultural products bound the farmers to have an alternative profession and to move to a big city. Second reason, so many people move to big cities, is the educational institutes are mostly in the city areas and students each year come to these metropolitan cities for a better education. There are lots more reasons people moving to cities each day and I believe the government has the vital role to stop this phenomenon by decentralising the city areas. There is no necessity for a University to be situated in the centre of a city and the government can easily force the organisations and industries to move to remote areas and new industries to be built outside the main city.
More people need more houses to stay in, and as people moving to the cities daily the rent of the apartments are increasing dramatically. Many people with an average income can’t afford to rent a room and living a miserable life. There are lots of street-living people who cause the city become more polluted. Due to street-life and because of over increasing housing problem, the number of violence and crime are increasing too.
(Approximately336words)
(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just one example out of many possible answers.)