Cities Without Cars
沒有車的城市
— English reading, C1
文章
When the Spanish city of Pontevedra banned cars from its center in 1999, many shopkeepers predicted disaster. Without parking, they argued, customers would simply go elsewhere.
一九九九年，西班牙城市蓬特韋德拉禁止汽車進入市中心時，許多店家預言會是一場災難。他們認為，沒有停車位，顧客就會直接去別的地方。
The opposite happened. Pedestrians filled the streets, small businesses flourished, and the population of the center actually grew.
結果恰恰相反。行人擠滿了街道，小商家生意興隆，市中心的人口甚至還增加了。
Crucially, the change was gradual and accompanied by better public spaces. Had it been imposed overnight, it might well have failed.
關鍵在於，這項改變是循序漸進的，同時也打造了更好的公共空間。如果是一夜之間強制實施，很可能就會失敗。
生詞
ban 禁止
shopkeeper 店主
predict 預言
pedestrian 行人
flourish 興盛
crucially 關鍵在於
gradual 逐漸的
impose 強制實施