新西兰英语 778 Auckland City Plan

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　　congestion¹ – too many people or cars which means they can’t move easily

　　urban sprawl² – city spread out too much

　　infrastructure³ – water, sewage, electricity, transport etc

　　metropolitan⁴ – city

　　submissions⁵ – write your opinions and send them to the council

　　Auckland has a new plan for how the city will grow. About 600 people move to Auckland each week and in the next 30 years that means 1million more people. Already Auckland has a problem with traffic congestion. During rush hours, cars on the motorways⁶ get stuck in traffic and cannot move. It takes people a long time to drive to work and home again after work. Should the city build more motorways? Who would pay? What about a congestion tax for anyone driving into the central city?

　　Many of Auckland’s problems come from urban sprawl. The city extends over a large area. This makes infrastructure expensive – underground water pipes, electricity, roads and public transport are expensive over a large area. More people need to live closer together.

　　The Auckland plan has more high-rise buildings, especially around metropolitan centres like Albany or Botany where buildings could be 18 storeys. Town centres like Pakuranga could have 8-storey buildings. The idea is to create work places in these centres so local people would not have to travel into the city for work or to do business. There would be mix of different kinds of housing: high apartment blocks, town houses and single houses, giving people a choice.

　　The city council is asking Aucklanders for their opinions on the city plan. People can attend meetings or send their submissions to the council by the end of the month.

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