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
69
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、Movethewashingmachinetothebasement.B、Turnthebasementintoaworkshop.C、Repairthewashingmachine.D、Finishhisassi
Mostpeopleareawarethatoutdoorairpollutioncandamagetheirhealth,butmanydonotknowthatindoorairpollutioncanals
Manistheonlyanimalthatlaughs.Whatisthehistoryofthis"happylaughter",assomeoneonce【67】it?Wearenot【68】ofth
ThereisprogresstowardapossibletreatmentforlungdiseasessuchasSARS(severeacuterespiratorysyndrome).Researchers
A、Kevinprobablywon’tfindapartnerintime.B、Kevinshouldtalktohisformerpartner.C、Kevinwillmanagetofindapartner.
Top10ReasonsforAfricanAmericanStudentstoGoAbroadBeforegoingabroad,Iwasanarmchairtraveler.Isatatmydesk
Generally,womendon’tcontentthemselveswiththechores.PerhapstherearefarmorewivesthanIimaginewhotakeitfor【67】th
He______(已下定决心)andnothingyoucansaywillmovehim.
Iassumetheconstructionofthenewairport______attheendoflastyear.
WhowontheWorldCup1994footballgame?WhathappenedattheUnitedNations?Howdidthecriticslikethenewplay?Justwhen
随机试题
某些生物碱类成分具有一定的毒性,在临床使用时应特别注意。因含生物碱类成分可能导致不良反应的中药有
我国封建社会早期出现的秘书性机构的主管官员有
居住用地的土地使用权最高年限为( )。
()主要任务是有效利用现有资源,满足市场要求。
我国古代第一部对绘画作品以及作者进行品评的理论文章是()。
A、 B、 C、 D、 D将原数列分母有理化:。由此可以推知下一项应为,故本题答案为D。
阅读短文,完成91—95题。1998年7月17日,巴布亚新几内亚太平洋海岸发生了一次巨大海啸。这次海啸究竟是什么原因引起的,在科学界至今尚有争论。研究地震波的专家一般都认为海啸是由海底地震引起的。但是在新几内亚海边作海底测量的考察队都提出,
【郑樵】清华大学2004年中国通史真题
下列事项中,能够引起资产总额增加的有()。
根据文意,下列对文中的“足够的力量”的理解,正确的一项是______。下列分析,符合原文意思的一项是______。
最新回复
(
0
)