To solve traffic and transportation problems, people should be encouraged to live in cities | Band 9 IELTS Essay Sample

Some people think that in order to solve traffic and transportation problems, people should be encouraged to live in cities rather than in suburbs or in the countryside. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Here is a band 9 essay on this topic. Need help with IELTS writing? Try my writing correction service.

Band 9 IELTS essay sample

Traffic congestion has become a major problem in almost all countries. Some people argue that the easiest way to solve this problem is to encourage all people to move to cities. Of course, people living in cities have easy access to all amenities and they do not have to travel much; however, I strongly disagree with the argument that everyone should move to cities. Any such move will only compound the problems.

Most cities in the world are already struggling to accommodate their existing population. For example, in India, cities like Mumbai and Bangalore are already pretty crowded. If everyone in the surrounding areas moved to these cities, they will become super crowded. Consequently the quality of living will suffer.

While it is true that cities offer jobs and have all amenities within an area of a few kilometers, space constraints are a big issue in all cities. There is a limit to the number of people that a city can house. As population increases the need for housing and other amenities will increase. Since space is already scarce it is impossible to build homes for all the people who migrate to cities. When demand exceeds supply, the price will increase. This is already evident in all major cities where homes are beyond the reach of a middle class family.

Maintaining adequate levels of sanitation is another challenge that crowded cities face. The existing infrastructure of most cities cannot absorb any more migrants. If more people arrived, cities would become filthier and less healthy. Pollution also increases with an increase in the number of residents in a place.

To conclude, traffic and transportation problems cannot be solved by encouraging all people to migrate to cities. Any such move will only worsen the quality of life in cities as most of them are already struggling to meet the basic needs of their existing population.

Manjusha Nambiar

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

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