Band 9 model answer
With billions more people expected to crowd into cities this century, how we plan urban space today will shape the quality of life for generations to come. In my view, the most important priorities are environmental sustainability and social inclusion, since a city that neglects either will ultimately fail its inhabitants.
Sustainability must come first, because climate change poses an existential threat to dense settlements. Future cities should be designed to minimise emissions and withstand extremes, integrating renewable energy, efficient public transport and abundant green space from the outset rather than as an afterthought. Compact, walkable layouts that reduce car use and flood defences that anticipate rising seas would together make a city both cleaner and far more resilient to the shocks ahead.
Equally vital is planning for inclusion, so that prosperity does not bypass the poor. A well-conceived city deliberately mixes affordable and market housing, ensuring that essential workers can live near their jobs rather than being banished to distant fringes. Investing in accessible schools, clinics and public transport for every district would prevent the entrenched segregation that scars so many cities today, knitting diverse residents into a single community.
In conclusion, while many factors matter, I believe planners must place environmental resilience and social fairness above all else. A future city that is green yet exclusive, or fair yet polluted, is only half successful; lasting liveability demands that the two priorities advance hand in hand.
Examiner’s notes
- Task Response: the prompt's open 'most important priorities' is answered decisively by nominating two, sustainability and inclusion, and defending the choice rather than listing many superficially.
- Coherence and Cohesion: the two-priority structure is set up in the introduction and delivered in turn, with 'Sustainability must come first' and 'Equally vital is planning for inclusion' giving clear parallel framing.
- Lexical Resource: elevated lexis such as 'an existential threat', 'banished to distant fringes' and 'entrenched segregation' demonstrates precision and range.