Band 7+: The world has many towns and cities constructed in previous centuries that were more suitable and livable for people in those times than they are now. What problems will this cause? What can be done to solve these problems?

Many old cities and towns are no longer suitable for modern living standards. They are congested, have narrow roads and inadequate drainage systems. This poses serious problems. The most effective solution to this problem is to develop satellite towns around these cities.

Cities and towns built in the 19th or 20th century tend to have narrow roads. There were fewer vehicles in those days and hence traffic was negligible. Consequently, the roads were narrow. The situation has changed tremendously over the years. Now almost everyone owns a car and hence traffic congestion is a major problem in old cities. Since, there are homes and other buildings on either side of roads, it is not easy to acquire land to build wider roads. Lack of adequate parking space is another problem plaguing such cities. In addition, their drainage systems are not adequate. Even a single spell of heavy rain can cause these cities to become submerged.

It is impossible to make these cities more livable without demolishing the existing houses and buildings. Once these structures are demolished, a planned city can be built with state-of-the-art road and rail networks. However, this is problematic. Many of these buildings have historical value and hence their demolition will anger the public. A better solution is to develop many satellite towns around these cities. Industries and businesses should be encouraged to move to the suburbs. This will create more jobs there and people will automatically move to those places. Thus, the old cities and towns can be decongested. Mumbai, for example, is an old city that faces serious space constraints. In order to address these issues, the government created a New Mumbai around the city. The suburbs are now a bustling hub for education, employment, recreation and business. At the same time, this move decongested Mumbai and improved the living standards there.

In short, old cities and towns do not have adequate infrastructure to cater to the needs of the growing population. Building satellite towns around old cities and encouraging people and businesses to move there is the most effective solution to this problem.