New Close Up Reading test Unit 4

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1–10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section

 explains why people stopped using certain urban areas?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1–10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section mentions one form of transport being replaced by another?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1–10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section  says why some people have to move to a cheaper location?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1–10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section  explains when a process began happening?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1–10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section says why people are happy to pay a larger amount of money?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1–10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section describes how more people prefer not to have a quiet suburban life?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1–10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section says that a whole way of life disappeared because of the growth in the number of people?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1-10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section describes how popular some new housing has become?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1-10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section describes how some designers want to change urban areas?

Read the text about urban development.

A

‘Urban sprawl’ refers to the rapid growth of commercial and residential properties outside a city’s normal limits. This trend started in the US in the 1950s and 60s, when car ownership started to rise and living in the suburbs became the ideal for many middle-class families. But the problem with these suburban areas is that it’s often impossible to walk anywhere, and people become dependent on cars. With today’s environmental concerns, there is now a growing trend away from urban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones, an architect and urban designer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and June Williamson, of the City College of New York, wrote a book called Retrofitting Suburbia, which looked at the transformation of 80 of these suburbs into new urban areas. In the years that followed, the number of similar projects that Ellen Dunham-Jones was aware of quickly grew to 1,500. The projects involve increasing the density of buildings, mainly by adding residential and retail units to existing buildings. The emphasis is on inter-connected living and working spaces which are all walkable, meaning a car is not needed to get around. Ironically, this was exactly the kind of tight urban density that people were encouraged to escape from all those years ago.

B

One reason for the change in attitudes towards urbanisation is the way our shopping habits have been transformed in recent years. The increase in online shopping has made hundreds of shopping malls redundant, and many of them are now being adapted to give suburbs a more traditional type of shopping area. Dunham-Jones explains that shopping streets were largely abandoned in the 1970s in the US, but, with the loss of so many shopping malls, many are being revived. Changes in society and relationships have also played a part in changing where people choose to live. Nowadays, only about a quarter of US households include people with children and young adults often prefer an urban lifestyle to the peace and quiet of the suburbs. This is increasingly true for their parents as well.

C

Until just after World War II, Los Angeles had the world’s biggest urban rail network and nearly every district could easily be reached by public transport. The arrival of affordable car transport put an end to this, and the city quickly became the ultimate symbol of car culture. Nowadays, it is trying hard to go ‘back to the future’. Residents have twice agreed to pay more taxes to pay for significant improvements in public transport, although some may say this is because LA citizens want to free up the roads for their own cars. The light railway to Santa Monica was completed in 2016 and a subway line extended from the city centre to UCLA university. However, these projects, while positive for the city, cannot solve all its problems. According to Michael Manville, an urban planner at UCLA, most people on low incomes cannot afford housing anywhere near the centre, and are forced to move to the outskirts. As many do not own a car, they depend on public transport, but this is also expensive and doesn’t reach the furthest suburbs.

D

In Duluth, Georgia, US, extensive urban expansion destroyed a traditional farming community. The population jumped from 72,000 to 770,000 in just over 30 years. One of the few things that survived this massive change was a group of eight century-old buildings in the city centre. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 presented Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development director, with an opportunity. Land and house prices fell dramatically, so the town bought the buildings and all the surrounding land. The area is now home to a lively restaurant district with good facilities and a popular music venue. Not far from this new main street, the town is working on 2,500 units of housing within a ten-minute walk. According to McGahee, the homes are selling before they’re even finished. He lives in one of them himself and walks to work at the nearby city hall, which faces onto a large green open space.

For questions 1-10, choose from the sections of the text (A–D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section  mentions some architecture that has not disappeared