You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
In recent years some countries have experienced very rapid economic development. This has resulted in much higher standards of living in urban areas but not in the country sides. This situation may bring some problems for the country as a whole. What are these problems? How might they be reduced?
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 1:
Over the past few years, a number of countries have enormously raised their economic status. Consequently, this has made the living standards of urban areas higher than the rural areas, which could bring some serious problems in the future for such countries.
First of all, it is a deniable fact that due to higher opportunities in studies as well as in employments, a large number of people from rural areas move to big cities. This phenomenon results in overpopulation and automatically makes the accommodations expensive. Another noticeable problem is the social gap between the urban areas and the rural areas. The rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. This could lead to growing number of crime as villagers want an equal level of living standards as that of urban citizens.
Again, putting emphasis on developing urban areas is not a prudent idea by the government. In many developing countries, rural areas are still the base and root for the overall economy of the country while cities are getting the benefits of the modern development. This is an uneven distribution and would bring many negative effects. In the long run, the economic development would hamper since the rural people are deprived of the advancement.
Numerous methods can be taken by governments of these countries to overcome these problems. At first, all the basic needs such as hospitals, schools, universities, factories, banks and companies should be built in rural areas as well and their standards should be equal to as that of urban areas. Due to this, the people will have fewer reasons to leave their hometowns and migrate to cities. At second, there will be less competition in every field, so higher opportunities of employments and studies will be available.
Hence, in conclusion, although there are several problematic issues related to the economic development in cities, but in my view, the government can and must solve these problems as early as possible before they become unsolvable.
[ Written by – Mansoor Afzal ]
Sample Answer 2:
A number of countries have experienced quick economic progress recently and that in return has improved the living standards of citizens. According to some, this development has improved the city life but did almost nothing for the rural area. So the gap, in terms of economic growth, between the urban and rural areas actually hampered the overall improvement of a country. Many issues have emerged because of this discrimination that we will discuss shortly. On the other hand, different strategies and solutions can be implemented to overcome the problems which have caused by the inequality of development between cities and villages.
Many cities of the world are enjoying an ever increasing economic and trade facilities. Besides, there are plenty of activities to create new infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, schools, and parks in city areas which improve the lifestyle of city dwellers. Similarly, more businesses and more job opportunities are being created in the cities. But, studies show that progress in country sides are very slow and many such rural areas do not even have basic infrastructure and job facilities. This results in the migration of people from rural areas to cities for better living. As a result, cities are also facing issues like overpopulation and pollution. Overpopulation in a city adds pressures on existing facilities like transport, education, health, and recreational places. For the same reason, there is an increase in the air, water, and noise pollution of cities that receive an influx of migrants from rural areas. The overall development of a country depends on a balanced development both in cities and rural areas and that is why developments of rural areas are also required.
In order to tackle issues mentioned above, both the government and private sectors need to work together. First, they need to start constructing a strong network of road and transportation that will connect rural areas to urban areas. Thus goods and other materials can be transported efficiently and the economy and trade would flourish more. Second, the government should give subsidy to business people to establish factories and industries in the rural areas. This will create more job opportunities at the footstep of villagers, and thus improve their living standards. Thirdly, banks should give easy loans to farmers to invest in the crops and get better yield at the time of harvest. Above all, more facilities such as colleges, hospitals and playgrounds should be created in rural areas so people living there do not need to migrate to a city for a better living.
To conclude, it is evident that world’s cities have gone through a rapid progression in terms of trade and development but that was not shared at same ratio with country sides. This contributed to many major metropolitan problems. But, these problems can be reduced to a greater extent, when both the government and private sectors make effort to divide funds and facilities between cities and villages.
[Written by – Muqeet Khalid]