第1462期:The city of the future

For centuries, people have moved to and lived in cities.几个世纪以来，人们搬到并居住在城市中。 These sprawling urban centres are places to find work, friends and fun.这些庞大的城市中心是寻找工作、朋友和乐趣的地方。 It's no surprise that they continue to grow as more and more people flood in hoping to make the most of the opportunities they offer but adding to the congestion and pollution that already exists.随着越来越多的人涌入希望充分利用他们提供的机会，但加剧了已经存在的拥堵和污染，他们继续增长也就不足为奇了。According to a report by the United Nations, 54 per cent of the world's population lives in urban areas and it predicts that by 2050, this figure will have increased to around 70 per cent. 根据联合国的一份报告，世界上 54% 的人口居住在城市地区，预计到 2050 年，这一数字将增加到 70% 左右。But as more and more people migrate from the countryside to the city to get better opportunities, they can end up with nowhere to live.但随着越来越多的人从农村迁移到城市以获得更好的机会，他们最终可能无处可住。This is true in places such as Rio de Janeiro, where migrants can't rent or buy a home, and they end up building their own communities and houses on unoccupied land. 在里约热内卢这样的地方确实如此，移民无法租房或买房，他们最终会在无人居住的土地上建造自己的社区和房屋。These are called shanty towns - poor communities where the houses are built out of cheap materials like corrugated iron and plastic sheeting – and often don't have any electricity or water supply.这些被称为棚户区——房屋是用波纹铁和塑料布等廉价材料建造的贫困社区——通常没有任何电力或供水。These are, of course, not the megacities of the future we want to see. Some serious urban planning is needed to make our cities of the future good, safe and modern places to live in. 当然，这些不是我们希望看到的未来特大城市。需要进行一些认真的城市规划，以使我们的未来城市成为美好、安全和现代的居住地。This involves improving the infrastructure, the housing conditions and also the opportunities for education and employment.这包括改善基础设施、住房条件以及教育和就业机会。Something urban planners are looking at now is the creation of 'smart cities'. 城市规划者现在关注的是“智慧城市”的创建。According to John Rossant, founder and chairman of the non-profit organisation New Cities Foundation, technology is the way forward.非营利组织 New Cities Foundation 的创始人兼主席 John Rossant 表示，技术是前进的方向。 He thinks that it's generally accepted that "cloud computing, ubiquitous internet, robust 5G networks etc, will transform our cities." 他认为，“云计算、无处不在的互联网、强大的 5G 网络等将改变我们的城市”这一观点已被普遍接受。He says technology is really "a game changer", in urbanisation.他说，在城市化进程中，技术确实是“游戏规则的改变者”。 It would collect large amounts of data about how a city is performing and may improve how a city functions.它将收集有关城市表现的大量数据，并可能改善城市的运作方式。This may sound like a utopian view. 这听起来像是一种乌托邦式的观点。For now, some cities and conurbations around the world are trying out more low-tech schemes to try and make them desirable places to live and work in. 目前，世界各地的一些城市和大都市正在尝试更多的低技术计划，试图让它们成为理想的生活和工作场所。Building shared-ownership housing and improving public transport are some ways. 建造共享所有权住房和改善公共交通是一些方法。And encouraging cycling and building bike lanes can keep the population healthy and cut down on smog. 鼓励骑自行车和建设自行车道可以保持人口健康并减少雾霾。What would make your city a better place to live in?什么会让你的城市更适合居住？词汇表sprawling 杂乱无序地扩展urban centre 城市中心congestion 拥堵，堵塞pollution 污染migrate 移居shanty town （大城市中心或近郊的）棚户区megacity 大城市（由指人口超过一千万的城市）urban planning 城市规划infrastructure 基础设施ubiquitous 似乎无处不在的a game changer 改变游戏规则的人或物to function 运行，工作utopian 乌托邦似的conurbation （由多个城市连接组成的）大城市desirable 令人向往的public transport 公共交通