Prompt: When a new town is planned, it is more important to develop public parks and sports facilities than shopping centers for people to spend their free time in. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is said that when a new town is developed, public parks and sports facilities take priority over shopping malls. After analysing the environmental, health and economic factors at play, I will conclude that this statement is indeed, correct. Ċ Firstly, public parks provides greenery for local people, which is seriously lacking in modern city life. Despite this, there are usually not enough incentives for commercial developers to build these spaces, as they are normally free of charge, hence offering little profitability. Commercial and residential complexes, on the other hand, are lucrative investments, holding special allure for businesses. It is, therefore, incumbent on the government to plan public parks ahead of the development of a new town, or there would be too many apartment buildings, which may necessitate the authorities’ intervention. For example, the construction of many apartment buildings in my city, Hanoi, were forced to stop at the green space–population ratio of the area would have been below a healthy level. Ċ Sports facilities are another aspect of a new metropolis that local governments should prioritize. With obesity rising and even being put on political agendas in some countries, efforts are being made to discourage sedentary lifestyles while encouraging active ones. Sports facilities should thus become integrated in any residential area. In fact, I believe we need more of them and fewer shopping centres, as the former promote health and the latter may even have an opposite effect, being places that generally involve little physical activity and high consumption of food. Ċ Of course, I argue that there will be those who say shopping malls are needed if a township is to function properly. After all, we all need to go shopping for the sake of personal enjoyment and shared economic development. While this may be true to some extent, as demand rises, shops are bound to appear in a populated area anyway, with or without the planned support of governments, so it only makes sense to leave shopping centre development in the private sector. One may argue that parks and sports facilities can be commercialized too, but most residents view them as public assets that should be provided and paid for by the authorities, not themselves. Humans, for instance, balked and protested at the prospect of having to pay to get in the Thong Nhat park, one of our city’s major parks. Ċ In conclusion, I believe it is essential that public parks and sports facilities be included in urban planning. Shopping centres are also necessary, but should be left to commercial developers. Hopefully, in the future we will see more towns with balanced arrangements of public spaces and shopping areas.