3 Changing cities

LISTENING SKILLS Activating what you know • Critical thinking (3) Fact or opinion?
• Note-taking (2) Linear notes • Recognizing signposts
SPEAKING SKILLS Expressing opinions • Presentations (3) Organizing the main content
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Academic words

L IS T E N IN G The history of a city

1 Work with a partner. Discuss these questions.
1 Look at the pictures. What do they show?
2 Why do people move to cities?
3 How do cities change to accommodate the people who
move there?
4 Think of a city you know. How has it changed?

2 Look at these words which describe cities and city life.

Which words are positive, which are negative and which
are neutral?

polluted sophisticated urban sprawling major

bustling industrial congested developing filthy
suburbs capital slums overcrowded cosmopolitan

Read STUDY SKILL I What do you know about London? Do the quiz below.

1 London was founded b y ...

a the Vikings b the French c the Romans d the Greeks
2 Which river passes through London?
a the Thames b the Severn c the Hudson d the Rhine
3 How much did the population grow in the 19th century?
a by one million b by two million c by three million
d by more than five million
4 The London Underground railway system is also called...
a the Subway b the Tube c the Tunnel d the Metro Life in 19th-century London slums

5 What caused Parliament to close in the summer o f 1858?

a a fire b a plague c a war d a bad smell

S T U D Y S K IL L A ctiva tin g w h at you know

A useful way to prepare for a topic is by discovering what you already know about it.
Ask yourself:
■ What do I know about this topic?
■ What don’t I know? What would I like to find out?

A busy street in the 19th century

20 Unit 3 • Changing cities

4 Read the extract from a book review and answer the questions.
1 Who is Martin Holt?
2 What is his book about?
3 In Martin Holt’s opinion, what do successful cities do?
4 What do you think the word ‘infrastructure’ means?

Urban Ideas
It seems that more and more people throughout the developing world want
to live in cities. But what awaits these new migrants from rural areas? Many
of them end up in slums, with little infrastructure or social support systems in
place. In his new book, Metropolis: The Challenges and Successes of Urbanism,
social historian Martin Holt explores this issue, with a keen sense of the
history, examining the blossoming megacities of today, like Mumbai and
Lagos, in relation to cities which have undergone similar transformations in A horse-drawn omnibus
the past, like Paris and London. Throughout the book he puts forward the
argument that for cities to succeed, we must provide sufficient infrastmcture
and social support for the poorest workers, who often build the growing cities.

5 ^ 3 .1 Listen to the podcast‘UK History Alive’. Check your answers to the

quiz in exercise 3.

Read STUDY SKILLRead sentences 1-5. Which are opinions? Make changes so
STUDY SKILL C ritica l th in kin g (3)
they are presented as opinions.
Fact or o p in io n ?
1 London is the ninth biggest city in the world.
2 Dubai is a successful city. It is important to be able to differentiate
3 The centre of Moscow is too crowded. between a fact and an opinion.
4 Mumbai will be an important cultural centre in the 21st century. ■ A fact is something generally known
5 Lagos is Nigeria’s most prosperous city. to be true. It may also be proved
scientifically, for example:
7 ^ 3.1 Listen to the interview again. What does Martin Holt say about the Mount Everest is the highest mountain
following topics? Complete the notes. in the world.
m An opinion is a view held by a person
Lotidofi or a group of people, for example:
History / believe Mount Everest is the most
• founded In 1st century difTicult mountain to climb.
• important medieval trade centre ~ location
• Great Fire In 1666 - of homes destroyed
Causes of population growth

Infrastructure Improvements In 14th-century London

Challenges of growth
• getting people from their homes to jobs

8 Work in small groups. Think about growing cities today and answer the
questions.
1 Which cities are growing rapidly today? Why do people want to move to
these cities?
2 What challenges do growing cities face in the 21st century?
3 What improvements can be made in today’s growing cities?

Unit 3 • Changing cities 21

 Eco-cities
1 Look at the city in the picture. What do you notice about it?
Where do you think it is located?

2 Prepare for a lecture on ‘Masdar City - a zero-carbon city’ by

reading the information below.
1 Look at the words in bold. Work out the meaning from the
context.
2 Compare your ideas with your partner.

G reen cities
An eco-city is a city designed to reduce environmental impact. It
is inhabited by people dedicated to the minimization of inputs of Masdar City master plan
energy, water and food, and output of heat, waste and air pollution
- CO2, methane - and water pollution. A sustainable city can feed
itself with minimal reliance on the surrounding area, and power
itself with renewable sources of energy. The aim is to create the
smallest possible ecological footprint, to produce the lowest quantity
of pollution possible, and to use land efficiently.
A zero-carbon city is powered exclusively by renewable energy
sources. To become a zero-carbon city, an established modern city
must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to zero and all practices
that emit greenhouse gases must stop. In addition, renewable energy
must become the sole source of energy. This transition includes
decarbonizing electricity (increasing the importance of the sources
of renewable electricity) and zero-emission transport.

3 3.2 Listen to the first part of the lecture. Correct the

S T U D Y S K IL L
bold words and phrases in the notes.
N ote-taking (2) Lin ear notes

A common way to take notes is linear

Masdar - an e>tample of a rero-oarbon
notes. Linear notes progress down the
Daflnltlons: page in a line and make use of headings
and points, e.g.
1Eco-city = ’ economically healthy, has a ^big Impact on the environment
Sources of energy:
2 Zero-carbon city = ^produces very little pollution 1Renewable sources, e.g.
Background to Masdar City: wind (in UK, Norway, etc.)
solar (in dry, sunny climates)
Location - ^The UK
hydroelectric (in mountainous regions)
Population - eventually 50,000 2 Non-renewable sources, e.g.
coal (in the USA, China)
Architects - Foster and Partners - from ^UAE
gas (in Russia, Middle East)
Cost - between ^£1 & 2 billion oil (Gulf states)

22 Unit 3 • Changing cities

4 ^ 3 . 3 Listen to the second part of the lecture and complete the notes
for the headings.

Sources of energy:
1_______________________________________________________
2._____________________________________________
Cooling of the city - by:

2.
3
Transport In Masdar City:
I.________________

Future: =

Interior View of Courtyard Building

5 Check your notes with other students. Add further information to your notes
if you can.

6 ^ 3.4 Listen to extracts from the lecture again. Write the

signposts that the lecturer uses as each new section of the talk is introduced.
Introduction: Today I’d like fo talk about a very interesting urban development
project - a new city called Masdar City.
Definitions: , definitions. An eco-city ...
Background: , Masdar City itself. Ifs being ...
Energy: ,energy? We’ve already ...
Cooling: . the cooling of the city.
1 , is the design of the city ...
2, ,, the walls will be covered with ... Centre Courtyard and wind tower at
the Masdar Institute
3, .wind towers. These are traditional...
Transport: . transport? How will the inhabitants ...
Future: • the future? Well, the city is due ...

STUDY SKILL Recognizing signposts

Signposts are words and phrases that the lecturer uses to indicate the next part of the
lecture - or a change in direction, for example:

First second, then, next finally...

I’d iiketo beginby...
Now let us move o n to ...
A further point is ...
Now let's consider the question of... Personal Rapid Transit Station
Which leads me on to... at Masdar Institute
A speaker may use a question to introduce a new point, for example:
Now what about...?
Signposts show us the structure of the lecture and help us to follow what the lecturer says.

7 Use your notes in exercises 3 and 4 to review the talk. Work in small groups
and give an oral summary o f the talk, using your own words.

Unit 3 • Changing cities 23