Many major cities are facing a housing crisis as they cannot provide enough land for new buildings. Some local governments believe the problem could be solved by reassigning park land for residential development, because this land would be better used for housing. Do you agree or disagree?

Redistribution of

land

is proposed by some local authorities as a possible measure for the

land

shortage, especially in urban areas. According to them,

land

currently used for

parks

should be converted into residences. From my perspective,

this

is far from ideal since it could result in serious problems.

First

and foremost,

parks

, with plenty of trees, are perceived as green lungs of cities, which means that they play a vital role in air filtration and smog mitigation.

Therefore

, if they are turned into concrete building blocks, urban residents will have to suffer even heavier air pollution than currently. As a consequence, their health will be severely affected.

In addition

,

parks

are

also

the venues for various community activities

such

as public exercise, social gatherings, and outdoor sports.

Thus

, the destruction of

parks

in favour of accommodation will result in a lack of public places for people to entertain and socialize and their mental well-being is likely to be lowered.

Moreover

,

although

transforming

parks

into buildings can temporarily address the

land

scarcity, it cannot be a long-lasting solution. The reason is that more residential structures will attract more urban immigrants and

thus

make cities even more crowded. To a certain point, when the population exceeds the city’s maximum capacity, the infrastructure

such

as roads and sanitation systems will have to suffer from rapid degradation. It,

as a result

, poses a severe threat to the quality of life.

For example

, widespread flooding is usually seen in Hanoi, even when the rainfall is slightly higher than usual due to overloaded drainage systems caused by urban sprawl. In conclusion, reassigning

land

currently occupied by

parks

is only a short-term method, and the consequences of it will undoubtedly downgrade the living standard of urban dwellers, and in my opinion, it is not worth the trade-off.

Therefore

, city officials should look for permanent and sustainable resolutions

instead

.