Going Green 5, exercise 1, page 97.0:00
Green belts, what are they?0:09
After World War II, town planners became alarmed by the way big cities were spreading out.0:29
Lines of new houses stretched along roads until they reached a town or village, swallowing it up into the big city.0:36
For this reason, in 1955, towns and cities were surrounded by green belts, or zones of land around urban areas where all housing and other development is forbidden or severely restricted.0:45
The problem is England's greenbelts are now under threat.1:00
Thousands of square kilometres are disappearing each year to make way for new housing estates, airports, roads and business parks.1:06
So, should greenbelts continue to be protected?1:16
Two of our readers, Susie and Tim, have just done a school project on them.1:20
Read what they had to say before you make up your mind.1:26
I can't believe anyone would want to see England's historic towns and pretty countryside villages eaten up by urban sprawl.1:30
Why don't city planners develop ugly, derelict land in urban areas instead?1:40
People's lives are enriched by having green, open spaces close to their cities.1:47
They provide opportunities for sports and other outdoor recreations and are visually pleasing.1:52
Who would rather look at a concrete jungle?1:59
Also, these spaces provide habitats for wildlife that has been forced out of our cities.2:03
The trees and plants in these open spaces clean city pollution from the air too.2:09
We should all oppose any plans that will give our green belts to developers.2:15
England has a huge housing shortage problem, but unfortunately there simply isn't any more land in overcrowded towns and cities to build on.2:23
In my opinion, building on a very small proportion of green belt land, which is all that is needed, is the answer.2:35
In any case, some greenbelt land is very unattractive, so building on it would only improve it.2:43
Also, because of greenbelts, many commuters have to live beyond them and make very long and tiring journeys every day to work.2:51
This causes terrible traffic congestion and produces a lot of polluting CO2.3:02
As for nature conservation, that is not why green belts were created.3:09
We have national parks and nature reserves for that.3:15
There are 14 green belts in England, covering every region.3:22
Green belts cover 13% of England.3:28
London's green belt is the largest, at 5,133 square kilometres.3:32
Established in 1938, it is also the oldest.3:40
Development is also restricted in national parks and other areas of natural beauty.3:44
Altogether, 55% of England's land is protected.3:50
Клик по слову — перевод и «+ в мои слова» (в любом режиме). Клик по строке или таймкоду — перейти к этому месту записи.