Some cities create housing for their growing population by providing taller buildings. Other cities create housing by building on wider areas of land. Which solution is better?

It is true that national and local authorities have adopted different policies to meet the increasing housing needs of their populations.
While
some favour high-rise apartment blocks, others prefer to see their
cities
expand outwards. I would argue that the best solution is to allow
cities
to expand in a planned and organised way. On the one hand, there are advantages and disadvantages of constructing tower blocks to provide housing in
cities
. A city may have little space to expand for geographical reasons
such
as a coastline, mountains or lakes, and
therefore
tall buildings are the only option if
Correct article usage
the
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demand for more housing is to be satisfied.
In addition
, if more
people
live in tall apartment blocks, housing will be more affordable, as only a small area of land is required.
However
, the major drawback is that city districts with a large population housed in a small area suffer from overcrowding and noise.
Thus
,
while
the construction of apartment towers to provide more housing may sometimes be the only practical alternative,
such
districts may not always be pleasant to live in.
On the other hand
,
expansion
Correct article usage
the expansion
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of a city to provide more housing is probably a better solution. The major drawback is
such
expansion may not be environmentally friendly if it means habitat destruction and loss of wildlife when more land is needed for building. Despite
this
, the construction of houses in suburbs provides a much more pleasant, green and healthy environment for
people
. It may mean longer commuting times for
people
to reach their workplace, but
cities
like London and New York have met
this
challenge by expanding and upgrading public transport provision. In conclusion,
although
both solutions have drawbacks, building on wider areas of land provides a better living space for
people
.
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Structure your answers in logical paragraphs

The easiest way to score well on the IELTS Task 2 writing portion is to structure your writing in a solid essay format.

A strong argument essay structure can be split up into 4 paragraphs, each containing 4 sentences (except the conclusion paragraph, which only contains 3 sentences).

Stick to this essay structure:

  • Paragraph 1 - Introduction
  • Paragraph 2 - First supporting paragraph
  • Paragraph 3 - Second supporting paragraph
  • Paragraph 4 - Conclusion

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