In the past, buildings often reflected the culture of a society but today all modern buildings look alike and cities throughout the world are becoming more and more similar. What do you think is the reason for this, and is it a good thing or a bad thing? You should write at least 250 words. You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Every city has its architectural character, but the similarities between

cities

are more obvious these days than in the past. In my opinion, one reason for

this

is the high price of land. In most large

cities

, land is scarce and

consequently

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consequently,

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it is very valuable.

This

has led to the construction of tall

buildings

which occupy only a small area of land

while

providing lots of floor space where people can live or work.

Buildings

of

this

type are made of concrete and steel and can be built comparatively quickly using prefabricated materials. They do not use local materials,

such

as stone, timber or brick, which

used

Add a missing verb

are used

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to give

cities

their individual character. In consequence many

cities

.

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have.

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now look very much the same and you might not know whether you were in Brisbane, Bangkok or Berlin when you are on the street.

While

I realise that we cannot stand in the way of progress, I believe that

cities

should try to keep some individuality.

For example

, in

Paris

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Paris,

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it is prohibited to build very tall

buildings

in the centre of the city, as

this

would spoil the

overall

appearance of the skyline. Other

cities

have chosen to design unique

buildings

to ensure they look different. The

twin towers

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Twin Towers

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in Kuala Lumpur

or

Correct word choice

and

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the Opera House in Sydney are examples of

this

approach, and I agree with

this

kind of initiative. All in all,

although

it is regrettable that

modem

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modern

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cities

look similar, I tend to feel that

this

is unavoidable.

However

, it can be argued that, even if the

buildings

are similar,

cities

will maintain their own character

as a result

of cultural diversity, the terrain and the climate, which ultimately determine how people live.