You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In many countries, there is a shortage of housing due to a growing population. Some people argue that new towns should be built in the countryside, others argue for the regeneration of cities.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of building new towns in the countryside?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
With around eight billion population worldwide, many cities have little space to accommodate the growing population and housing. Thousands of people are moving to the urban areas each day for better jobs, modern facilities, education and healthcare services, only to increase the cities’ woes already. To solve the housing and other pressing issues due to the booming of the population, many people opine that the construction of new cities near rural areas is the best solution. In contrast, others have a different view on this. The second group supports the regeneration of cities rather than building new towns close to the countryside. Establishing new cities in the countryside has its advantages and drawbacks.
First, building new cities near the countryside would require a considerable budget. Since many underdeveloped and developed countries already have a scarcity of budgets to support the basic needs of citizens, taking such initiatives would only uplift their debts. Besides, constructing new cities close to country sides would require destroying farming lands and natural geography, which will have severe consequences, including deforestation and degradation of lands. Further, such cities would be far away from the main cities. If the government fails to provide every facility that the already established cities have, people will not stay there, which poses a chance of wasting money in the long run. Finally, many cities already have severe congestion problems. Building such new cities near rural areas would worsen the situation as people’s necessity for commuting to these new cities would increase.
On the other hand, accurate planning and proper execution of establishing new cities near rural areas rather than regenerating existing cities have many merits. First, this would be an excellent way to solve many cities’ housing problems. If the government can ensure proper facilities in the newly constructed cities, the pressure on current cities would decrease tremendously. This would result in less traffic congestion, decentralisation, less pollution and better life standard in both types of cities. Newly built cities would open many new job facilities and help the adjacent rural areas develop as well. The construction would require a considerable budget, but the government will have an excellent opportunity to control many business sectors to earn a steady revenue. Finally, these new cities would have modern buildings and new constructions which would fight better against natural calamities like earthquakes.
In conclusion, building new cities near rural areas is a plan that can bring many amenities to a country’s citizens and government. It can be an excellent way to solve housing and pollution problems in existing cities though some negative consequences of this plan should be considered.