Each of these lessons are based on a topic such as the METAVERSE, NFTS or more general like the Ted talk on emotions or tips for better PRESENTATIONS.
This is a video and reading exercise on the urban project in Barcelona know as The Super Block and the reading on the concept of the fifteen minute city.
Objective – Expand vocabulary related to urban development and new concepts in city living.
Class duration – Two - 1 hour session \ Number of students – 1 – 3 maximum
The majority of corrections are given in real time during the online class with notes taken and written in the CHAT option in Microsoft teams, google MEET or skype.
SMART CITIES -------------------
What is a smart city ? Why do we need our large cities to be smarter?
In what ways do you think the city you live in could work more effectively in relation to the quality of life of it's citizens ?
Have you seen recent developments where you live that you think have made things better ?
I have noticed changes in the city of Madrid over the past ten years while some of these changes may have been CONTENTIOUS the overall EFFECT for me has been a positive one. I have always loved the centre of cities but the amount of traffic and noise pollution AFFECTS peoples behaviour and GETS them WOUND UP to the point that they don't want to be there.
Cycling along the Madrid Rio the other day I was thinking about this massive urban project that was the most ambitious in Europe when it was completed in 2010 and the ASTRONOMICAL \extreme adjective\ cost. Today I imagine it's difficult or impossible to quantify the value of the project to the citizens of the city.
SMART CITIES -- In general, a smart city is a city that uses technology to provide services
and solve city problems. A smart city does things like improve transportation
and accessibility, improve social services, promote sustainability, and give its
citizens a voice.
The Superblock programme is the street transformation model helping citizens to reclaim part of the space currently occupied by private vehicles. The goal is to achieve a healthy, greener, fairer and safer public space that promotes social relations and the local economy. After completing projects in smaller areas, they are now creating a network of green hubs and squares throughout the city where the pedestrian can get access to services much easier
Barcelona’s Car-Free Superblocks Explained - YouTube
Video goes from 2’59 - 4’49
Before watching the following video, try to get an idea of what these missing words might be.
• The city _________ a few neighbourhoods and began taking away space from ______.
• Streets became somewhere where people can walk, cycle and ________.
• Barcelona has some of the worst _____________ in Europe.
• The blocks operate a one way system with a ____________ of 10km per hour.
• The goal is to have roughly ________% of all journeys by foot, bike or public transport by 2024.
• This is how it works. Through traffic is rerouted along the ____________
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DISCUSS -- What other similar ideas have you seen in your city? As a group, brainstorm a few ideas that could make your city Smarter.
There are many different concepts to what we should do globally with our megacities from making them SMART -- which depends heavily on technology or the fifteen minute city where cities are transformed into many small villages where everything the citizen needs is fifteen minutes on public transport or by walking.
This will take a lot of GETTING used to for the citizens and at the beginning way make it more difficult to GET around but in the long run it will be worth it \ Valdrá la pena\.
GET IS EVERYWHERE IN ENGLISH THERE IS NO GETTING AWAY FROM IT !!!! -------------------------------
Work in pairs and match the collocations with GET with their proper definitions
COLLOCATIONS with GET -- get up to\get over \ get rid of \ get around to \ get across\ get wound up
to recover from something (illness, break up, let down)
to move around a city or country (form of transport)
to communicate an idea successfully
do something
to be very tense, nervous or angry
to remove something, to throw away
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