首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Do we need cities any more I don’t want to live in a city. Perhaps we divide naturally into two types: those for whom cities
Do we need cities any more I don’t want to live in a city. Perhaps we divide naturally into two types: those for whom cities
admin
2012-10-30
36
问题
Do we need cities any more
I don’t want to live in a city. Perhaps we divide naturally into two types: those for whom cities are vibrant and exciting, a focus for human activity; and those for whom they are dirty, noisy and dangerous. It may be unfashionable, but I’m in the latter camp. I do not believe that we are a species whose behavior improves in overcrowded conditions.
A new study proposes a significant increase in the capacity of towns and cities through a combination of increased housing densities, lower on-plot provision for cars and more on-street parking, and the re-use of marginal open space that is empty of any amenity value. The benefit of this approach is to reduce the loss of green fields and to help "move towards more sustainable patterns of development".
This study suggests that it would be possible to achieve a 25% increase in density in a typical provincial city without changing the traditional street scene, although it would be necessary to reduce the size of the houses and substitute parking spaces for garages. Therefore, the cost of this approach is to have more people living in smaller homes at higher densities, along streets that are lined with parked cars. Can we really accept the notion that space within dwellings may be reduced even further? In times when, we are told, living standards are rising in real terms, is it realistic to seek to reduce personal space standards?
The streets of many inner suburbs are already lined with cars on both sides, reducing movement to a single lane. Increasing densities means accepting urban streets that are designed as linear car parks, bounded by even smaller living units and modified only by occasional trees growing from the tarmac. Would the benefits of higher density be worth the disadvantages of increasing on-street parking? Can we achieve a satisfactory visual environment from such raw materials? Higher urban densities may be communally good for us, but they will fail to meet the desire of many prospective home owners.
Those without economic choice can be directed to live in this way, but if we are to continue to rely on the private sector to produce this urban housing, it will need to appeal to the private developers’ customers. Who will choose to live in these high-density developments of small dwellings, with minimal open space and a chance to park on the highway if you are lucky enough to find a space? The main consumers will be single people, couples without children, and perhaps some "empty nesters". These are people who can choose to spend much of their time outside their home, making the most of those urban cultural opportunities or getting away at weekends to a country cottage of sporting activities.
The combination of a young family and a mortgage restricts the mobility and spending power of many couples. Most people with a family will try to avoid bringing up their children in an overcrowded flat or house. Space for independent activity is important in developing the individual and in maintaining family balance. The garden is the secure place where the children can work off excess energy.
There is danger that planners may take a dispassionate, logical view of how we should live, and seek to force society into that shape. A few years ago a European Commission study provided a good example of this. It took the view, quite sensibly, that housing should not be under-occupied because this is a waste of resources. Therefore, it would be much better if the many thousands of old ladies who live alone in large detached houses would move into small urban flats, thus releasing the large houses for families. What the study failed to recognize was that many of those old ladies prefer to continue to live in their family home with their familiar surroundings and, most importantly, with their memories. What is good for us is not necessarily what we want.
The urban housing option may be technically sustainable, but individually unacceptable. There still seems to be a perception among planners that new housing investment can be forced into those areas that planners want to see developed, without proper consideration of where the prospective purchasers want to live. There is a fatal flaw in this premise. Housing developers run businesses. They are not unavoidably committed to building houses and they are not obliged to invest their resources in housing development. Unless there is a reasonable prospect of a profit on the capital at risk in a housing project, they may simply choose to invest in some other activity.
For every family with a mortgage, their mobility and spending power is restricted.
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
B
解析
依据文章倒数第三段第一句,题目和原文的极端词不一致。原文中有 many,意思是“年轻人刚成家又背负抵押贷款,这限制了很多夫妇的活动范围和消费力”;而题目中是every,意思是“对每一个有抵押款的家庭来说,其流动性和消费能力都受到限制”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/t757777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Abouttenyears.B、Abouttwoyears.C、Abouttwentyyears.D、Aboutthirteenyears.AMorgan提到“perhapswithintenyearsfromnow
Mostpeopleareawarethatoutdoorairpollutioncandamagetheirhealth,butmanydonotknowthatindoorairpollutioncanals
Newtechnologylinkstheworldasneverbefore.Ourplanethasshrunk.It’snowa"globalvillage"wherecountriesareonlyseco
A、Hecancountonhisfriendsforhelp.B、Hisfriendwillnothelphimatall.C、Hecanaskforhelpfromhisfriend.D、Everyone
HelpYourselfthroughtheHardTimesEveryone,atsomepoint,willsufferaloss—thelossoflovedones,goodhealth,oraj
A、Becausethequalityofwaterdecidesitsvolume.B、Becausehealthconditionsaffecttheamountofwaterneeded.C、Becausether
Manypeopleviewretirementasatimetostopworking.Butnewresearchshowsthatpeoplewhotakeonfull-orpart-timejobsaft
TenKeystoSuccessWhatisitthatmakespeoplesuccessfulandImeanreallysuccessfulcomparedtoyouorme?Aretheysma
Iamreally______yourreasonsforleavinghomeandwanderingaboutinthestreet.
A、CarsMagazine.B、Reader’sDigest.C、Neitherofthem.D、Bothofthem.C
随机试题
某投资者通过场外(某银行)投资1万元申购某上市开放式基金,假设基金管理人规定的申购费率为1.5%,申购当日基金份额净值为1.025元,则其申购手续费为()。
领导活动本身及领导科学的研究对象所涉及的领域决定了领导科学具有
3岁幼儿颅骨的生长依赖于何种骨骼生长方式()
A、收敛止血,消肿生肌B、收敛止血,活血祛瘀C、温经止血,散寒止痛D、凉血止血。活血祛瘀E、凉血止血,清热利尿艾叶的功效是
招投标阶段,化学灌浆应按()计量。
会计的两项基本职能是相辅相成,辩证统一的关系,下列说法不正确的是()。
新的退票费规定:开车前,退票费由原来按每张车票的20%计收下调为按多少计收()
结合材料回答问题:材料1金砖国家领导人第六次会晤将在巴西举行,峰会主题为“实现包容性增长的可持续解决方案”。巴西总统罗塞夫将主持会晤,中国国家主席习近平、俄罗斯总统普京、印度总理莫迪和南非总统祖马与会。金砖国家领导人会
HowmuchmoneywouldthecompanyprobablypayfortheSalesManager?
【B1】【B6】
最新回复
(
0
)