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Some people say it is more important to plant trees in open spaces in towns

游客2025-02-18  8
问题     Some people say it is more important to plant trees in open spaces in towns and cities than build more housing. To what extent do you agree or disagree? (2015-03-12)
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答案     People have to live somewhere in towns and cities, which means more housing has to be built. The issue is: do builders build on available land within the city boundary, which could be brownfield sites or open sites such as parks, gardens and commons, or do they encroach on the surrounding countryside? At the same time, as people get richer, they want bigger houses with gardens that take up space only available outside the town, and with high prices of land there is a temptation to subdivide property, build in gardens, and extend underground, all of which lead to problems. Population growth compounds the problems.
    Trees too are vitally important. They convert the carbon dioxide that we exhale into oxygen that we breathe, so the existence of all kinds of plants, but especially trees, is absolutely vital. People also need space for recreation and exercise to encourage good health. Parks, gardens and common land provide the space to do this, often within the boundaries of towns and cities. These areas also provide space for wildlife of all kinds, much of which humans depend on. Without, for example, bees and other pollinating insects, crops do not grow. The insects depend on flowers for their food and flowers grow in open spaces.
    The need to maintain city open spaces puts pressure on the surrounding countryside, as it is easier to build on a green site than to deal with whatever a brownfield site was previously used for. People living in villages prefer this way of life and usually do not want their village swallowed up by the growing city. Agricultural land is important for food production, and once lost is usually lost for ever.
    There is no simple answer to the question of trees versus homes; both are important, so a balance is called for. Housing in cities has to use land effectively, and high-rise buildings are an obvious solution. Many people really hate this and in cities such as London and Birmingham where nineteenth century slum properties were replaced by modern high rise flats, people missed the old community spirit and hated sky-high living. Some such flats have been demolished and replaced by lower blocks with better designed environments.
    Open spaces in cities and towns have to be maintained, and areas once used for industry, such as the coalmining areas of England’s Midlands, made into spaces for recreation. In this area, the National Forest initiatives has resulted in the planting of millions of trees, and opportunities to walk, cycle, and take part in all sorts of nature-related activities. New houses have been built in the once run-down mining villages, improving amenities and so making life better for more people.
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