In some metropolitan areas, allocating and separating shops, schools, offices, and homes for functional zones is one of the most possible decisions for planners. In this essay, I would evaluate both pros and cons before proposing whether or not the positive aspects can surpass its drawbacks.
It is undeniable that separating zones leads to some advantages for improving productivity and noise. As for the former, division in certain zones optimizes productivity, in which people can easily transport related products instead of delivering to many places. Moreover, because of this separation, people can know exactly where to go. For example, shops located in the central commercial areas can create more convenience for shopping efficiently. Regarding the latter, separating can help residential areas to reduce noise and pollution from congestion. For example, grouping schools and offices in specific areas allows Japanese neighborhoods to create a peaceful and benign environment.
Despite positive aspects, separation also creates potential risks for applied cities. Firstly, this wastes an amount of time for moving from place to place. A prime example is the morning routine of workers, who have breakfast outside before going to their offices. Usually, people tend to eat at food shops that are near their offices. However, in divided areas, they have to spend the amount of time moving from eating areas to their offices, which creates various inconveniences for themselves. Secondly, allocating in specific areas affects the environment, which stems from congestion on a considerable scale in particular times. For example, at 7:00 am, many people have to go for work, which creates a large quantity of vehicles pouring onto the streets in one area at the time. As a result, this congestion leads to air pollution and bad impacts to infrastructures.
In conclusion, after assessing both positive and negative impacts that separate shops, homes, schools and offices in specific areas, I believe that drawbacks outweigh the advantages by potential risks relating to congestion in large scale and time-consuming for commuting.