Some People Think That The Best Way To Reduce Time Spent Travelling To Work Is To Replace Parks And Gardens Close To The City Centre With Apartment Buildings | IELTS Essay Samples

Some people think that the best way to reduce the time spent travelling to work is to replace parks and gardens close to the city centre with apartment buildings for commuters, but others disagree. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Here is a band 9 IELTS essay on this topic.

Band 9 IELTS essay sample

Industrial revolution made cities the hub of employment opportunities and thus triggered the influx of job seekers from all parts of the country. On the down side, this also made traffic jams an everyday occurrence. According to some people by replacing urban recreational spaces such as parks and gardens with residential buildings, the time it takes employees to commute between home and work can be reduced to a great extent. Others, however, oppose this view.

If parks and gardens are replaced by residential buildings people will be able to live closer to their workplace. This will certainly reduce their traveling time to work. It may even prevent traffic jams. If fewer people have to travel long distances, there will be a reduction in the number of vehicles on the roads. This will enable traffic to move freely and thus allow people to save traveling time.

At the same time, this is not a healthy decision. Cities are already reeling from poor quality air. Parks and gardens are the only green spaces that supply oxygen to urban areas. If these trees are cut down to build concrete jungles, the air quality will get even worse. This will lead to a lot of health problems and people will call in sick more often. A better strategy is to go vertical. This enables the construction of more residential units – one on top of the other – on a small piece of land. Another solution is to increase the number of job opportunities available in the rural areas and suburbs. This will arrest the migration of rural folks into cities.

To conclude, parks and gardens are the lungs of urban areas. If they are gone, air quality will suffer leading to health problems among people. Hence, I believe that replacing green spaces with residential units is a foolish idea.

Some people think that the best way to reduce the time spent travelling to work is to replace parks and gardens close to the city centre with apartment buildings for commuters, but others disagree. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Here is a band 7 IELTS essay on this topic written by one of our students. Need help with IELTS writing? Get your IELTS essays, letters and reports corrected by me.

Band 7 IELTS essay sample

Since property prices are pretty high in city centres, people are often forced to live in suburbs and travel long distances to their workplace in the city. While there are residents who suggest that replacing open public spaces with apartment complexes is the best strategy to reduce time spent on travelling to work, others disagree with such a statement. In this essay, I will discuss both opinions along with examples and demonstrate / prove why I believe this indeed is not an effective strategy.

It is undeniable that commuters spend a lot of time travelling to work daily. Therefore, if public areas such as parks and gardens are replaced by buildings for residential purposes, people can live close to the city and save a lot of time. As less time is used for travelling, individuals can achieve a work-life balance through participating in their favorite leisure and exercise. Scientific research has shown exercising can reduce stress levels and improve the quality of sleep.

Although reducing individual travel time enables people to have more time for themselves, the lack of greenery will undoubtedly destroy the ecosystem and bring detrimental consequences for the environment and residents. If the government destroys the parks and gardens, there will be no plants in the city to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. As a result, this may lead to air pollution while reducing the quality of living. Studies have shown that air pollution has disastrous consequences for people’s health and causes respiratory ailments and lung cancer. Thus, it is essential to have some flora to improve air quality in cities.

In conclusion, while it is necessary to reduce people’s travel time, in my opinion, replacing greenery in central suburbs is not the best idea to tackle such issue.

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Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.