ENG 1003 - Week 9

¹Trying to put people’s concerns at the heart of smart city policies has always been challenging, due to the lack of creative grassroots approaches, which enable citizens to participate and engage with planning. ²And while technology has been able to give citizens instant access to a wide range of data about a place, it is rarely used to improve their actual experience of that place.

1. What makes smart city policies challenging?

¹Trying to put people’s concerns at the heart of smart city policies has always been challenging, due to the lack of creative grassroots approaches, which enable citizens to participate and engage with planning. ²And while technology has been able to give citizens instant access to a wide range of data about a place, it is rarely used to improve their actual experience of that place.

2. In what way has technology benefited citizens?

¹Trying to put people’s concerns at the heart of smart city policies has always been challenging, due to the lack of creative grassroots approaches, which enable citizens to participate and engage with planning. ²And while technology has been able to give citizens instant access to a wide range of data about a place, it is rarely used to improve their actual experience of that place.

3. What is the logical relationship among the ideas in the second sentence?

¹Trying to put people’s concerns at the heart of smart city policies has always been challenging, due to the lack of creative grassroots approaches, which enable citizens to participate and engage with planning. ²And while technology has been able to give citizens instant access to a wide range of data about a place, it is rarely used to improve their actual experience of that place.

4. What are the ideas that contrast with each other?

¹Trying to put people’s concerns at the heart of smart city policies has always been challenging, due to the lack of creative grassroots approaches, which enable citizens to participate and engage with planning. ²And while technology has been able to give citizens instant access to a wide range of data about a place, it is rarely used to improve their actual experience of that place.

5. What are the typical linking words to be used to show contrast?

¹Getting smart cities to slow down could give citizens the means to explore the urban environment at a range of different paces, each offering a distinctive experience. ²To do this, architects, artists and urban planners need to look beyond the ways that technology can give instant access to information, services, entertainment - whether that's video game lounges, or recharging and navigation pods in airports and stations.

Find a word in Extract 2 similar in meaning to those below:

1. way / method (n.) ..........

2. tempo / speed (n.) ..........

3. different / unique (adj.) ..........

4. immediate / quick (adj.) ..........

¹Getting smart cities to slow down could give citizens the means to explore the urban environment at a range of different paces, each offering a distinctive experience. ²To do this, architects, artists and urban planners need to look beyond the ways that technology can give instant access to information, services, entertainment - whether that's video game lounges, or recharging and navigation pods in airports and stations.

What do the following words refer to in Extract 2?

1. each (line 2) ..........

2. to do this (line 3) ..........

¹Technology can create platforms for citizens to immerse themselves and engage meaningfully in different experiences within the urban environment. ²For example, technology-based installations or projections can tell stories about people and places from other times that enrich people’s experience of the city. ³Artificial Intelligence and machine learning can offer new ways to understand cities, and the way people function within them, which could help give human behaviour and experience a significant place in smart city planning. ⁴Basically, advanced technology would not only help to improve people’s quality of life but also could enable them to live better, more meaningful lives long into the future.

1. What makes it possible for citizens to get easily involved in city life?

¹Technology can create platforms for citizens to immerse themselves and engage meaningfully in different experiences within the urban environment. ²For example, technology-based installations or projections can tell stories about people and places from other times that enrich people’s experience of the city. ³Artificial Intelligence and machine learning can offer new ways to understand cities, and the way people function within them, which could help give human behaviour and experience a significant place in smart city planning. ⁴Basically, advanced technology would not only help to improve people’s quality of life but also could enable them to live better, more meaningful lives long into the future.

2. What is the function of the 2nd and 3rd sentences?

¹Technology can create platforms for citizens to immerse themselves and engage meaningfully in different experiences within the urban environment. ²For example, technology-based installations or projections can tell stories about people and places from other times that enrich people’s experience of the city. ³Artificial Intelligence and machine learning can offer new ways to understand cities, and the way people function within them, which could help give human behaviour and experience a significant place in smart city planning. ⁴Basically, advanced technology would not only help to improve people’s quality of life but also could enable them to live better, more meaningful lives long into the future.

3. What technology platforms are mentioned in the extract?

¹Technology can create platforms for citizens to immerse themselves and engage meaningfully in different experiences within the urban environment. ²For example, technology-based installations or projections can tell stories about people and places from other times that enrich people’s experience of the city. ³Artificial Intelligence and machine learning can offer new ways to understand cities, and the way people function within them, which could help give human behaviour and experience a significant place in smart city planning. ⁴Basically, advanced technology would not only help to improve people’s quality of life but also could enable them to live better, more meaningful lives long into the future.

4. How can people benefit from these platforms?

¹Slow and smart cities could take the best of both approaches, helping citizens to connect with the history, present, and future of a place, emphasizing local character and building a sense of community, while also making use of the latest technology to give people greater choice about whether they want to speed up or slow down. ²This would not only enhance efficiency and productivity but also ensure that technology actively helps to improve people’s quality of life and make cities better places to live. ³It may sound idealistic, but with the range of advanced technology already being developed, ensuring cities are slow as well as smart could help people live better, more meaningful lives long into the future.

Find a word in Extract 4 similar in meaning to those below:

1. method, strategy (n.) ..........

2. improved, developed (adj.) ..........

¹Slow and smart cities could take the best of both approaches, helping citizens to connect with the history, present, and future of a place, emphasizing local character and building a sense of community, while also making use of the latest technology to give people greater choice about whether they want to speed up or slow down. ²This would not only enhance efficiency and productivity but also ensure that technology actively helps to improve people’s quality of life and make cities better places to live. ³It may sound idealistic, but with the range of advanced technology already being developed, ensuring cities are slow as well as smart could help people live better, more meaningful lives long into the future.

What do the following words refer to in the extract?

3. they (line 5) ..........

4. This (line 5) ..........