Writing exam (Emma Álvarez)

CITIES OF THE FUTURE

These last few years, the number of people living in big cities has increased considerably, up to the point that, nowadays most part of the world's population resides in urban areas. There, traffic and air pollution are dominating over green spaces and trees. But, will this life style continue to be viable? Or will we be forced to change and adapt our cities for the upcoming times?

In the future, cities will have evolved and changed a lot, adapting to new technology and the population's necessities. Single family houses will be replaced by skyscrapers, saving space and energy. On the roofs, there will be vegetable gardens and solar panels, that will provide the building with green and clean energy. Cars won't be needed, due to the use of public transport. All the vehicles, including buses and trains will be electric. The city wastes will be incinerated underground and turned into biofuel, so no dumps would be needed. Finally, there will be a lot of parks and green areas, allowing people to breath fresh air and avoid all the city noises and the stress.

Even though people think that cities are the main cause of pollution and a big green city won't be possible, science and technology are providing enough advances to allow us to dream with that idea. But this may not be only a fantasy, since there's already a city in South Korea, Songo, that is on the way to become everybody's dreamed utopia. And, maybe, someday all the cities will be like that. What do you think, is an ideal city possible or just another unreachable human dream?

EMMA ÁLVAREZ