Practice for Reading: Can urban engineers learn from dance?

The way we move around cities has a significant impact on their sustainability. Transportation is responsible for approximately 30% of energy consumption in many developed nations, making it crucial to reduce reliance on energy-intensive vehicles to lessen environmental impact. As urban populations grow, consideration of sustainable travel alternatives becomes increasingly important. Our modes of transportation affect our physical and mental well-being, social interactions, access to employment and cultural activities, as well as air quality.

B

Dance may offer solutions. This does not imply everyone should dance their commute, despite its potential health benefits; rather, choreographic techniques for exploring and designing movement could inspire engineers to reimagine urban planning. Richard Sennett, a prominent urbanist and sociologist who has reshaped urban development concepts, argues that city planning has suffered from a disconnect between theoretical ideas and physical engagement since the advent of architectural blueprints.

C

In contrast to medieval builders who adapted construction based on hands-on knowledge and site-specific conditions, modern building designs are often conceived and manipulated through digital technologies that distance designers from real-world contexts. While these technologies are indispensable for managing the complexities of modern urban environments, they risk oversimplifying reality in the process.

D

For example, Sennett discusses Peachtree Center in Atlanta, USA, a development that exemplifies the modernist approach to urban planning prevalent in the 1970s. Peachtree was designed as a grid of streets and towers aimed at creating a new pedestrian-friendly downtown for Atlanta. According to Sennett, this project failed because its designers overly relied on computer-aided design to predict its functionality. They overlooked practical issues such as the inability of purpose-built street cafes to operate without protective awnings, common in older buildings, and the need for energy-intensive air conditioning instead. Additionally, the giant car park felt unwelcoming, discouraging people from leaving their cars. What appeared predictable and manageable on screen resulted in unexpected outcomes in reality.

E

The same applies in transportation engineering, where models are used to predict and shape urban movement patterns. While these models are indispensable, they are built on specific assumptions about efficiency and safety, often disregarding other aspects of city life. Designs that seem logical in models can prove counter-intuitive in actual user experiences. For instance, guardrails, familiar to anyone crossing British roads, were initially introduced for pedestrian safety based on models prioritizing smooth traffic flow. However, on wide main roads, they often direct pedestrians to specific crossings, elongating the crossing experience and creating psychological barriers that affect mobility. They also contribute to community division and hinder healthy transport options. Consequently, many are being removed, despite the disruption, cost, and waste involved.

F

If designers had tools to engage physically, akin to dancers, and envision how these barriers feel, better solutions might have emerged. To fundamentally transform urban use, engineering must develop a deeper understanding of movement motivations and impacts. Choreography may not seem an obvious approach, yet it shares with engineering the goal of designing movement patterns within spatial constraints. It is an art form that evolves through physical experimentation, providing immediate feedback on the experience of movement. Choreographers possess profound insights into the psychological, aesthetic, and physical implications of different movement styles.

G

Cognitive scientist David Kirsh, observing choreographer Wayne McGregor, described how McGregor 'thinks through his body'. Kirsh argues that McGregor's use of the body to simulate outcomes allows him to conceive solutions that abstract thought alone cannot achieve. This embodied knowledge is valued across various disciplines but is currently absent from formal engineering design processes. Transport engineers might consider improvising design solutions and obtaining immediate feedback through personal experience or modeling designs at full scale, akin to choreographers experimenting with groups of dancers. Above all, engineering could learn to design for emotional as well as functional impacts.

Questions 1-6

Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Which section contains the following details?

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

1   reference to an appealing way of using dance that the writer is not proposing

2   an example of a contrast between past and present approaches to building

3   mention of an objective of both dance and engineering

4   reference to an unforeseen problem arising from ignoring the climate

5   why some measures intended to help people are being reversed

6   reference to how transport has an impact on human lives

Questions 7-13

Summarize the text below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.

Guardrails

Guard rails were introduced on British roads to improve the 7…………………… of pedestrians, while ensuring that the movement of 8……………………. is not disrupted. Pedestrians are led to access points, and encouraged to cross one 9…………………….. at a time.

An unintended effect is to create psychological difficulties in crossing the road, particularly for less 10………………….. people. Another result is that some people cross the road in a 11……………………. way. The guard rails separate 12……………………., and make it more difficult to introduce forms of transport that are 13…………………….

Responses

1. B (Đoạn B, “Dance might hold some of the answers… however healthy and happy it might make us,…” → cách thức hấp dẫn)

2. C (Đoạn C, “Whereas medieval builders …they are creating” → so sánh cách tiếp cận giữa xưa và nay)

3. F (Đoạn F, “…In order to bring about … limitations of space” → đều nói về mục đích của cả việc nhảy và cơ khí)

4. D (Đoạn D, “They failed to take…older buildings” → những vấn đề xảy ra khi việc thay đổi khí hậu bị ngó lơ)

5. E (Đoạn E, “The same is true…their users.” → những phương pháp trên lý thuyết có vẻ thuyết phục nhưng không áp dụng được trên thực tế)

6. A (Đoạn A, “The ways we travel … the air we breathe” → giao thông ảnh hưởng đến hô hấp)

7. Safety (Đoạn E, “The guard rails that … pedestrian safety based on models that prioritise the smooth flow of traffic.”)

8. Traffic (Đoạn E, “The guard rails that … pedestrian safety based on models that prioritise the smooth flow of traffic.”)

9. Carriageway (Đoạn E, “On wide major roads, … one for each carriageway.”)

10. Mobile (Đoạn E, “In doing so … least mobile,…”)

11. Dangerous (Đoạn E, “and encouraging others to make dangerous crossings to get around the guard rails.”)

12. Communities (Đoạn E, “they divide communities and decrease opportunities for healthy transport.”)