Band 9 essay about poor quality of life in cities
Essay topic
Today, the quality of life in large cities is decreasing. Discuss the causes and solutions.
Sample response
Industrilisation and urbanisation have brought opportunity and prosperity albeit at a cost. The quality of life in cities is diminishing. As urban population increases, the complexity of the challenges also increases. Nonetheless, there are several solutions to this problem.
The causes for the decrease in the quality of life are paradoxically the prosperity of metropolitan cities. Cities provide jobs and this makes them more attractive to people. However, the huge influx of migrants eventually leads to a decrease in the quality of life as the city can experience overcrowding, exorbitant property prices, and increased vulnerability to terrorist attacks. For example the density of London makes it more vulnerable to a terrorist attack, when compared to a smaller city such as Bradford. This clearly shows that cities are victims of their own growth and prosperity and urban citizens, especially the poor, often have to be content with a lower quality of life.
As for the solutions, well, greater investment in public transport will ease traffic congestion. Building separate lanes for bikes and cycles will also help. In theory this will reduce air pollution, and possibly improve the health of the population if they adopt a more active lifestyle and cycle to work. To counter violent terrorist attacks, cities could install CCTV cameras to closely monitor the threats. For example, the CCTV cameras in London are said to have foiled many potential attacks, and thus greatly increased the security of its citizens.
To conclude, a wealthy city attracts large influx of people, which then puts pressure on existing infrastructure and security. Various solutions exist to mitigate such drawbacks; nevertheless a permanent solution is yet to be found.
Looking to improve your score in the Writing module? Why not get your writing samples evaluated by our expert teachers? You can get an essay corrected for just US $3.
