Some cities create housing areas by providing taller buildings. Others create housing by building houses on a wider area of land. What solution is better?

While the government in a number of
cities
decide to construct high-rise buildings to provide housing for their citizens, that in other
cities
expand their housing areas horizontally. In my opinion, building a vertical city is a better option because it makes better use of
land
, a limited resource on the planet, and it is
also
more eco-friendly than a horizontal one. A vertical city can better optimize the
land use
Add a hyphen
land-use
show examples
because the
land
on earth will not grow any bigger, while the human population is ever-increasing. If tall apartments are erected and chosen as a place of residence, a unit of
land
can accommodate a larger number of residents.
For instance
,
instead
of allocating 100 miles square of
land
for the construction of houses for a population of only 100 households, the government can provide accommodation for ten times as many when constructing a ten-story apartment.
Then
, more
land
can be available for other purposes,
such
as cultivating crops to meet the growing food demands or expanding streets to alleviate traffic congestion, which can address critical issues associated with overpopulation. Meanwhile, housing areas enlarged in a horizontal direction place high pressure on the environment and people’s life.
As a result
of the increasing population of humans, wildlands may be encroached to make room for residential areas.
For example
, in Brazil, a major part of forests are cleared to build more houses for citizens, which not only endangers wildlife but
also
puts human civilization at higher risk of natural disasters. With narrowed forests, floods and droughts have taken place more often, damaging the agriculture, the economy and other important sectors of
this
country. In conclusion, employing the same area of
land
, vertical
cities
can house more citizens than horizontal
cities
which are not only environmentally damaging but
also
unsustainable in the long run. Personally, municipal leaders should develop their city in a vertical way as soon as possible.
Submitted by colennaooo on

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Answer the 'Problem and Solution' topic

Problem-and-solution essays fall naturally into two parts, the first describing and exploring the problem, the second setting out the solution or solutions.

You essay structure should look something like this:

  • Introduction
  • Body paragraph 1 – Problems
  • Body paragraph 2 – Solutions
  • Conclusion

Examples to start your body paragraph:

  • One of the first problems of the...
  • Another problem that needs to be considered...
  • A possible solution to this problem would be...
  • One immediate practical solution is to...

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You are not ready for IELTS Speaking, if you

  • Can’t speak smoothly without pauses.
  • Use simple words and lack vocabulary.
  • Feel nervous and anxious when speaking.
Topic Vocabulary:
  • urban density
  • sustainability
  • public transportation
  • green spaces
  • community connections
  • overcrowding
  • economic implications
  • infrastructure impact
  • maintenance costs
  • carbon footprint
  • compact city
  • habitat destruction
  • greenhouse gas emissions
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