Topic 1: Increasing travels between countries enable people to learn different cultures or to increase tension between people from different countries

Topic 66: Some findings have revealed that cities around the world are growing large. Could you outline the possible causes and predict consequences?

Of those issues that have concerned the government, academics and the public throughout the world, urban sprawl is one of the most prominent. There are conflicting views toward this growing trend. While it has been taken as a positive development in many newly emerging cities, it is increasingly perceived as a threat to rural environment and considered as a trigger for numerous urban problems. The objective of this essay is to evaluate the forces behind this trend and its consequences.

Population growth is widely recognised as the primary reason. The room in the city centre is so limited that it fails to provide enough housing to accommodate an ever-growing population. Another problem that has intensified in the inner city is infrastructure shortage and poor conditions of buildings. Lack of amenities, such as water and electricity supply, waste disposal, swage treatment, to name but a few, has left no choice to urban dwellers but to resettle in the suburbs, where they have easier access to new facilities

City dwellers are not always moving outward unwillingly. The continued increase in household incomes gives renewed impetus to urban development. People nowadays have higher expectations for quality of life and a growing appetite for lower-density housing with a larger open space. It is possibly the main reason why the real estate market has its focus now on the outskirts of the city, but not on the centre. In the meantime, the affordability and ubiquity of car ownership has made transport a less serious concern for those living in suburbs. They can commute daily between the place of work and the place of residence with ease.

The sustained expansion of cities will make a marked impact on the society in several dimensions. The high traffic volume between suburbs and urban areas would cause severe air pollution and reduce the lands suitable for fanning. Urban sprawl requires large developments, causing areas to lose some of their unique qualities and characteristics. From the economic perspective, the relocation of a high population in suburbs will pose adverse fiscal impacts on the local government in infrastructure construction. To those who used to live in suburbs, the inflow of new inhabitants would damage the community spirit and make relations between neighbours fragile.

Urban sprawl is, therefore, a trend which has a strong effect on the environment, communities and government budgeting. When urban decay and citizens' desire for higher standard of living make this trend irreversible, the emphasis should be placed on planned and sustainable development.

1. 
   amenity = facility = service
   
2. 
   disposal = clearance
   
3. 
   treatment = handling = dealing
   
4. 
   to name but a few = to mention but a few = and so on = and so forth
   
5. 
   renewed = new
   
6. 
   impetus = momentum = thrust = drive = force
   
7. 
   quality of life = living standard = the level of comfort and wealth
   
8. 
   real estate = property = housing
   
9. 
   outskirt = suburb = the periphery of a city
   
10. 
    in the meantime = meanwhile
    
11. 
    ubiquity = prevalence = popularity
    
12. 
    commute = go back and forth
    
13. 
    with ease = easily = effortlessly = without much effort = without difficulty
    
14. 
    marked = noticeable = distinct = manifest
    
15. 
    inflow = influx = arrival
    
16. 
    inhabitant = dweller = citizen = resident
    
17. 
    damage = injure
    
18. 
    irreversible = unalterable