Inglese A (Meyer) LESSON 9

STREETSCAPE

EX. 1: Watch the VIDEO from YouTube “What is streetscaping?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=28cFw3a-wlo ) and fill in the gaps with the appropriate words:

Streetscaping is a really broad term that 1._____________ so many different aspects. It can include the
different types of 2.____________ that we are actually sitting on. It can include things like what type of
4._____________ you are putting in: are we going to put in bricks? Is it going to be 3.____________ streets?
Is it going to be a 5._____________ or a wide sidewalk? Is there going to be all 6.______________? Are we
going to do extended wider sidewalks to allow for more pedestrians to travel? Or are we going to do wider
7.____________? Are we going to have this kind of light standard or even different types of trees?
Trees add a lot of 8.____________ and uniqueness to downtown, but they also add 9.____________, which
makes it a lot more pleasant for folks when walking down the street when they are shopping. Streetscape
creates the atmosphere for a downtown, the theme.

EX. 2 – VOCABULARY: Use the same words used to complete the previous exercise to fill in the blank
spaces in the following sentences:

1. He's sick of spending every game on the _____________ .

2. An __________ friendship necklace is a great way to show someone special that you care about
them.
3. At one point the road became one ___________ and curved around the face of a cliff.
4. They need to be especially careful at high elevations and in areas with surfaces that reflect the sun's
rays, such as off sand, water, ____________ , and snow.
5. The job ___________ a wide range of responsibilities.
6. She moved away from the bus stop and joined the crowds on the ____________ .
7. The extra ____________ in the bathroom will help add an exotic, jungle safari feel.
8. The steep and _____________ road was far too dangerous for anything but slow caution.
9. Large _____________ trees and bamboo cabanas provided seating and protection from the sun.
 Inglese A (Meyer) LESSON 9

Ex. 3. Read the text “Streetscape (part 1)”. Choose words from the box to fill in the gaps in the text.

Tacky [adjective] /pavement/ conservation project / street furniture /

mar [verb]/ clutter [verb and noun] / maintenance/ streetscape

STREETSCAPE (PART 1)
(Adapted from: English for Architecture, pp. 95-96 and https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/scape/scape.htm )

Imagine you have just finished an excellent building 1._______ _________. Now is the time to take some
memorable photographs to record the result. But there is a problem: the collection of ugly, 2.__________
traffic signs which helped to make the building seem rather pathetic before restoration is still in the
foreground; and the 3._________ in front of the building looks as though it has been run over by a tank. In
other words the all-important setting of the project is about to 4. __________ the final achievement.

This scene, including all that we see in the street, is what we mean by 5. _____________. We do not only
look at buildings, which are usually the subject of considerable care and attention by the planning and
conservation authorities; we look at the whole scene including the spaces between buildings. This includes
the quality of the pavement surfaces, the various pieces of 6. ___________ as well as the official traffic-
related street equipment.

Very often the whole character of an historic main street is hidden behind a mist of street furniture clutter.
Unfortunately the street scene is often the result of severe conflicts of interest. At least four are very evident
in every high street:

 the interests of urban conservation

 safe convenient movement of traffic
 access for people with disabilities
 economic 7. __________ of the public realm.
One way to resolve the most significant conflicts would be to ban traffic completely. Fortunately there are
sensible, more practical ways forward. The following two principles help: first, to reduce unnecessary 8.
__________; and second, to ensure that new work and on-going maintenance to the street scene respond to
the best of what is already there.

Ex. 4 Reading comprehension (True or False?)

1. According to the authors, streetscape refers only to buildings. _____

2.“a mist of street furniture clutter” refers to weather conditions that can affect a street. ____
3. Accessibility is never in conflict with the necessity of traffic. ____
4.The author thinks that banning traffic is a sensible choice. To reduce conflicts within a given
streetscape____
 Inglese A (Meyer) LESSON 9

Ex. 5. Vocabulary preparation - Read each sentence and choose the appropriate meaning for the word
highlighted in the sentence. The words will appear in the text that we are going to read afterwards.

1. “The sofa would be less obtrusive in a paler colour.” “I agree… that yellow colour is quite tacky”.

a. noticeable (in a negative sense)

b. joyful (but in a loud way)
c. discreet

2. Follow the blue posts by the side of the road until the track meets a road.

a. a piece of writing, image, or other item of content published online, typically on a blog or social media website or
application.
b. display (a notice) in a public place.
c. a long, sturdy piece of timber or metal set upright in the ground and used as a support or marker

3. Even though the coat was old, it showed no wear of time.

a. clothing suitable for a particular purpose or of a particular type.

b. damage or deterioration sustained from continuous use.
c. decoration.

4. Salamanders, far from being able to withstand the action of fire, as was believed by the ancients, are only
found in damp places,

a. avoid
b. stand with someone
c. resist

Ex. 5. Multiple choice cloze - Read the text “Streetscape (part 2)”. Choose the correct option.

STREETSCAPE (PART 2)

Clutter is made up of lots of bits and pieces. The only way to reduce clutter in the streetscape is to look at
each individual item and consider whether it really is necessary and whether it can be removed, hidden,
replaced in a less noticeable position or at least painted a less obtrusive 1. noise / colour / light / dimension.

There are a number of things which can be done quite inexpensively. The most obvious is to reduce the
quantity of posts which stand in the 2. buildings / pavement / window / air. For instance the number of lamp
posts can be reduced by fixing street lighting to buildings.

Traffic lights do not always need their own posts; they can often be fixed to lamp columns. Many traffic
signs can be fixed neatly to buildings and there are new systems to reduce the size of the support posts that
are needed for those traffic signs which are essential.

Pavements and public spaces are notoriously difficult to maintain. Maintenance budgets are often restricted
and physical 3. exercise / wear / activity / education is very high. Materials and the way they are used need to
be able to 4. withstand / encourage / improve / avoid neglect. However there are guidelines to consider.
Perhaps the fundamental point is to study the use of local paving materials to see to what extent they can be
replicated. The way in which traditional materials are used locally is important.
 Inglese A (Meyer) LESSON 9

Ex. 6. Reading comprehension.

Choose the correct option:

1. According to the author, reducing ‘street clutter’:

a. is always expensive.
b. requires a careful consideration of each item’s role within a streetscape.
c. is unrelated to the colour or position of street furniture.

2. In the texts, it is implied that posts can be used to position _____ and ______, even if it’s not always the
best solution:
a. traffic lights and advertising.
b. street lighting and traffic lights.
c. advertising and street lighting.

3. Pavements:
a. wear down very quickly.
b. are done with local materials, hence they are easy to maintain.
c.. Should be easy to replicate, therefore are always done in concrete.