You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Many old cities around the world are going through a major process of modernization. What are the advantages and disadvantages of modernization? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer:
Nowadays, expansion of urban areas has made tremendous changes in cities. Having better transport systems or modern constructions has led citizens to have a better living condition. However, I believe that these changes have caused people to face two obvious challenges.
On the one hand, advancements occurred in heritage cities have had two important benefits. One is that dwellers have access to better transport facilities. Improving roads or public transportation, they can travel faster from one place to the other place. In particular, in Rome, which is an old capital city in Italy, the extension of rail system has created this city a better place for inhabitants or tourists travelling from other countries because they can reach their destination far simpler than before. Another positive effect is accessing a better housing. Using the state-of-the-art designs in buildings, individuals have a better feeling and higher quality of lifestyle. For example, had not high-rise buildings been developed in Tehran, citizens living there would not have enjoyed the latest technologies of modern systems installed in their inside, including elevators or indoor pools.
On the other hand, the drawbacks of these modifications should not be forgotten, and I believe that the negative consequences have been more pivotal. The first reason behind it is that cultural values of these regions have been forgotten. Obviously, ruining historic places and constructing skyscrapers or other novel modernised constructions can cause people to not remind their ancestors and what their habits were. For instance, in Isfahan, a heritage city in the middle of Iran, growing of shopping malls has led the old buildings to be demolished. These buildings had precious ancient window designs, which were well-known to many Iranians. Furthermore, this transformation has increased the level of pollutants in cities. Admittedly, having a more luxury lifestyle and using more energy, more waste materials are produced by city-dwellers, leading them to live in a lower standard condition. In this case, only in New York, just over 20 thousand New Yorkers die due to toxic air pollutants annually; however, had not this city developed so fast, more people would have been survived.
In conclusion, in our modern era, some historic locations are changed to high-tech cities. From my perspective, the negative effects of these changes can outweigh the benefits because of cultural and environmental concerns.
[ Written by – Rambod ]