BBC Take Away English (The city of the future 城市的未来)

未来城市的发展会是什么样的，我们还会喜欢在未来城市中居住吗？人们移居城市，追求更好的工作和生活。随着人口增长，越来越多的普通城市在逐渐转变成人口超过一千万的大城市，城市发展随之也带来了机遇和挑战。

The city of the future

>本文音频戳这里<

article

For centuries, people have moved to and lived in cities. These sprawling urban centres are places to find work, friends and fun. It's no surprise that they continue to grow as more and more people flood in hoping to make the most of the opportunities they offer but adding to the congestion and pollution that already exists.

According to a report by the United Nations, 54 per cent of the world's population lives in urban areas and it predicts that by 2050, this figure will have increased to around 70 per cent. But as more and more people migrate from the countryside to the city to get better opportunities, they can end up with nowhere to live.

This is true in places such as Rio de Janeiro, where migrants can't rent or buy a home, and they end up building their own communities and houses on unoccupied land. These are called shanty towns - poor communities where the houses are built out of cheap materials like corrugated iron and plastic sheeting – and often don't have any electricity or water supply.

These are, of course, not the megacities of the future we want to see. Some serious urban planning is needed to make our cities of the future good, safe and modern places to live in. This involves improving the infrastructure, the housing conditions and also the opportunities for education and employment.

Something urban planners are looking at now is the creation of 'smart cities'. According to John Rossant, founder and chairman of the non-profit organisation New Cities Foundation, technology is the way forward. He thinks that it's generally accepted that "cloud computing, ubiquitous internet, robust 5G networks etc, will transform our cities." He says technology is really "a game changer", in urbanisation. It would collect large amounts of data about how a city is performing and may improve how a city functions.

This may sound like a utopian view. For now, some cities and conurbations around the world are trying out more low-tech schemes to try and make them desirable places to live and work in. Building shared-ownership housing and improving public transport are some ways. And encouraging cycling and building bike lanes can keep the population healthy and cut down on smog. What would make your city a better place to live in?

vocabulary

sprawling 杂乱无序地扩展
It's no surprise that 在意料之中的是
make the most of 充分利用
urban centre 城市中心
congestion 拥堵，堵塞
pollution 污染
migrate 移居
shanty town （大城市中心或近郊的）棚户区
megacity 大城市（由指人口超过一千万的城市）
urban planning 城市规划
infrastructure 基础设施
cloud computing 云计算
ubiquitous 似乎无处不在的
a game changer 改变游戏规则的人或物
to function 运行，工作
utopian 乌托邦似的
conurbation [ˌkɒnɜ:ˈbeɪʃn] （由多个城市连接组成的）大城市，卫星城
desirable 令人向往的
public transport 公共交通

make sentences

Overnight road works were blamed for the serious congestion on the motorway last night.
The new building project led to large numbers of migrants moving to the city looking for jobs.
These days coffee shops are ubiquitous: you're never more than a few steps away from your next cappuccino!
A new train line is being planned to serve major conurbations between London and Birmingham.
Los Angeles is a sprawling city that seems to go on for miles.

question

What name is given to a city that uses technology to help it function properly?

answer

Smart cities.