IELTS Writing Task 2 – Chủ đề Đô thị (Cities)

There is a growing concern about the impact of city life on urban citizens’ health. While I agree that the availability of health services and facilities in city centers would benefit urban inhabitants greatly, I believe that city life also has detrimental effects on people’s health.

Firstly, I admit that living in cities is beneficial for people’s health to some certain extent. City dwellers can easily access fitness centers and recreation centers to improve their physical well-being and relieve stress, whereas those places might not be provided in the countryside. Besides, compared to those patients living in rural areas their counterparts living in cities might be able to access better health facilities and innovative technologies that can help with diagnosing a variety of diseases such as diabetes or cancer at an early stage and effectively treating them.

However, I believe that some physical and mental health problems would likely be the result of city life. The constant stream of noise from construction sites and transportation systems would result in noise pollution, and this might cause hypertension, tinnitus and sleep disturbances. Pollutants including exhaust emissions from motor vehicles and coal ash from industrial parks and are the main culprits of a number of health problems including respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer. Heavy traffic congestion in some metropolises like Beijing often makes commuters feel frustrated, and busy lifestyles might deprive people their time to relax, negatively affecting their health.

In conclusion, while I agree that the advantages that city life would bring to urban citizens are undeniable, I believe that some clear negative consequences for their physical and psychological well-being should not be denied.

Nowadays, it is obvious that the congestion in nearly all over the world is on the increase and cities are becoming busier. In my opinion, this problem must be tackled because it is a global issue, especially for many people who live in cities.

One of the main reasons which causes the traffic jam is that the majority of people prefer using their own cars instead of public transportation. However, it is not impossible to find good and effective ways to control the congestion. Public transportation is the easiest way to solve this trouble. If there are comfortable and cheap public transportations such as trains and buses, they will make people like to use them better than drive. For instance, in Manchester, Stagecoach buses are the most convenient buses that help the city to have comfortable life in its roads and streets during rush hours. In fact, governments should provide much better public transportation and charge prices that are affordable for everyone.

Another solution to solve that is to charge the congestion fee for every car that will go into a city centre. It will either discourage people from driving into that area, or raise more money for public transportation. A good example of this situation is London, which now has a congestion charge. Going to the city centre in London costs about £8 per day.

In conclusion, the problem of traffic congestion can be tackled by improving public transportation and by charging drivers who enter city centres.

It is true that nowadays city residents have to encounter a large number of problems, especially those concerning environmental and social factors. However, encouraging people to migrate to smaller provincial towns, in my opinion, is not a viable solution to these problems.

As living in a metropolis, people are confronted with high level of air pollution, which is caused mainly by the exhaust fumes released into the atmosphere from petrol-driven vehicles. The more populated the city is, the higher the demand for traveling becomes, and as a result, the higher the level of air pollution will be. Living in this environment for a long time is supposed to be detrimental to human’s health as polluted air is the main contributor to respiratory diseases. Another problem involves social aspects such as the issue of unemployment. As many people moving to big cities do not have any skills or qualifications, they are unlikely to find a job. This higher unemployment rate can give rise to the increased criminal activities threatening inhabitants’ life.

Since dwelling in urban centers can have negative impacts, some governments tend to encourage the citizens to relocate to smaller regional towns, but I do not think this will be effective. The first reason for my belief is that this policy cannot guarantee a reduction in air pollution because people still have to commute to their workplace, which is usually located in city center. Indeed, living far away from cities means that people even have to travel a much longer distance to work, which, in fact, can increase the amount of exhaust emissions. The second reason is that finding jobs in the countryside is certainly not easier than in urban areas. Job opportunities in these places are much lower and people usually have to do low-paid jobs if they work in smaller and less developed towns.

In conclusion, it is obvious that living in big cities can create a number of problems, but encouraging people to migrate to suburban areas is, in my opinion, totally not a viable measure at least when it comes to addressing the problems concerning pollution and unemployment.