Band 7+: The best way to solve traffic and transport problems is to encourage people to live in cities rather than in surburbs or countryside. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is believed that encouraging people to reside in urban centers is the best way to tackle the transportation problems. I completely disagree with this argument.

Certainly, one might contend that living in cities could address transportation and traffic issues of citizens. This is because residing in urban centers reduces travel distance of people, leading individuals to save massive time and money. However, this argument fails to take into account drawbacks of this phenomenon. First, the majority of cities worldwide are confronting an overpopulation challenge. Overcrowding has been cited as a main contributor to several traffic-related difficulties, including traffic congestion and a shortage of parking lots. As a result, the quest for more urban residence may unintentionally exacerbate the city’s current difficulties. Second, when the population in urban centers is too large compared to the capacity of urban infrastructure, it leads to insecurity in people’s traffic participation, especially causing dangerous accidents.

In my perspective, rewarding urban residents to relocate to the suburbs or rural areas would be a better solution to traffic and transportation issues. This is because doing so will greatly reduce the demand on urban infrastructure and resources. This would automatically minimize congestion and put less strain on transportation networks in city centers. Furthermore, suburban and rural locations frequently have enough acreage to support well-planned transportation networks. For example, Davis, California, is well-known for its enormous network of bike lanes and pathways that span the suburban landscape, encouraging inhabitants to ride bicycles as their primary means of transportation, reducing traffic congestion and promoting environmentally friendly mobility.

In conclusion, although encouraging people to concentrate on living in cities may solve some transportation problems in some aspects, in my opinion, this is not the best way because there are several greater solutions to address traffic issues.