Unit 2 – Are you a big-city person? Vocabulary

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering terms, German equivalents, and in-context example sentences from Unit 2: Are you a big-city person?, focusing on megacities, urban planning, sustainability, and city versus countryside living.

to be the capital city of … (name of federal state / country)

die Hauptstadt von … (Name des (Bundes)Landes) sein (Example: "Vienna is the capital city of Austria.")

to have about … inhabitants

etwa … Einwohner/innen haben (Example: "Taipei City has about 9 million inhabitants.")

to have a population of … (number)

eine Einwohner/innenzahl von … haben (Example: "The American state of Michigan has a population of 10 million people.")

to experience new cultures

neue Kulturen erleben (Example: "Many people travel to large cities to experience new cultures.")

to meet people from all over the world

Menschen aus der ganzen Welt treffen (Example: "Larger cities are a great way to meet people from all over the world.")

to try different foods

verschiedene Speisen / Gerichte probieren (Example: "It is important to try different foods if you travel abroad.")

to learn about traditions and festivities

über Traditionen und Feste lernen (Example: "Learning about traditions and festivities when studying abroad is a part of the experience.")

to visit interesting sights

interessante Sehenswürdigkeiten besuchen (Example: "Jim loves to walk around a new city and visit interesting sights recommended by guidebooks.")

the city never sleeps

die Stadt schläft nie (Example: "Many who visit New York believe that the city never sleeps.")

there are many entertainment options (e.g. cinema, theatre, museum, etc.)

es gibt viele Unterhaltungsmöglichkeiten (z. B. Kino, Theater, Museum, etc.) (Example: "Living in the centre of a city is great for young people because there are many entertainment options all over.")

to have a good transportation system

ein gutes Verkehrssystem haben (Example: "It is important to Steve that any city he visits has a good transportation system.")

to be a green city / a tourist-friendly city

eine grüne / umweltfreundliche Stadt / eine touristenfreundliche / touristinnenfreundliche Stadt sein (Example: "Our town wants to be a green city in the near future by planting more trees. / Prague is a tourist-friendly city that makes people feel safe when they visit.")

to afford the rent

sich die Miete leisten können (Example: "If people cannot afford the rent in a neighbourhood, it is often only populated by very rich people.")

to rethink a new vision of a city

eine neue Vision einer Stadt durchdenken (Example: "City planners often want to rethink a new version of a city to make it more liveable.")

to travel in from the suburbs

aus den Vororten in die Stadt pendeln (Example: "Workers often travel in from the suburbs to their jobs in the city centre.")

to meet someone’s basic needs within a short walk / cycle ride

die Grundbedürfnisse von jemandem in kurzer Gehzeit / Fahrradentfernung decken (Example: "The goal of the 15-minute city is to meet someone’s basic needs within a short walk or cycle ride.")

to create a lot of opportunities

viele Möglichkeiten schaffen (Example: "A big city can create a lot of opportunities for jobs and education.")

to reduce air pollution / transport emissions

Luftverschmutzung / Verkehrsemissionen reduzieren (Example: "When cities reduce air pollution, rates of asthma begin to go down. / The city wants to reduce transport emissions to have cleaner air.")

to ghettoise poorer people

ärmere Menschen in Ghettos abdrängen (Example: "Building expensive houses in the city can ghettoise poorer people by forcing them to live in certain areas.")

to promote interaction between residents

den Austausch zwischen Bewohnern/Bewohnerinnen fördern (Example: "Community organisers wanted to promote interaction between residents and create a closer community.")

to not have enough infrastructure

nicht genügend Infrastruktur haben (Example: "Some cities that experience a large growth in population simply do not have enough infrastructure for the increased number of people.")

improve the quality of life / the air quality

die Lebensqualität / die Luftqualität verbessern (Example: "The Danish government improved the quality of life in Copenhagen and people were much happier living there. / City planners should plant more trees to improve the air quality in megacities.")

to boost the local economy (e.g. shops, restaurants, etc.)

die lokale Wirtschaft ankurbeln (z. B. Geschäfte, Restaurants, etc.) (Example: "Many politicians want to boost the local economy by opening more small businesses.")

to create public spaces / parks

öffentliche/n Raum / Parks schaffen (Example: "Creating public spaces / parks are a great way to encourage young families to move to the city.")

to have easy access to hospitals, schools, etc.

einfachen Zugang zu Krankenhäusern, Schulen, etc. haben (Example: "Young families also look for easy access to schools when they are looking for a new house.")

to reduce the hours lost by commuting

die durch das Pendeln verlorene Zeit reduzieren (Example: "The CEO decided to reduce the hours lost by commuting by allowing more days of home office.")

to become a sustainable city / car-free city

eine nachhaltige Stadt / autofreie Stadt werden (Example: "Becoming a sustainable / car-free city would be great for the environment but not very realistic for many cities.")

to make streets easier to access

Straßen zugänglicher machen (Example: "Many city planners want to make streets easier to access to help the flow of traffic.")

to encourage young people to walk

junge Menschen dazu ermutigen, zu Fuß zu gehen (Example: "Lisa wants to encourage young people to walk by designing paths around the city.")

to improve someone’s overall health / someone’s well-being

die allgemeine Gesundheit / das Wohlbefinden verbessern (Example: "In order to improve someone’s overall health, both air and water need to be clean.")

decision-makers should include young people’s views in city planning

Entscheidungsträger/innen sollten die Meinungen junger Menschen in die Stadtplanung einbeziehen (Example: "Decision-makers should include young people’s views in city planning or fewer people will want to live there.")

to end air pollution

die Luftverschmutzung beenden (Example: "Ending air pollution in a big city is unthinkable for many people.")

to build a greener city

eine grünere / umweltfreundlichere Stadt bauen (Example: "Erin wants to build a greener city by selling more electric cars.")

to get involved in policy creation

sich an der Politikgestaltung beteiligen (Example: "Keegan decided to get involved in policy creation so he could make a difference in his community.")

to engage in direct action

sich an einer Protestkundgebung beteiligen (Example: "If more people engaged in direct action, so much more could be accomplished.")

to contact local elected politicians

lokal gewählte Politiker/innen kontaktieren (Example: "It is important to contact local elected politicians if you want to bring about change in your neighbourhood.")

to save money

Geld sparen (Example: "Creating greener cities would actually save money.")

to avoid car accidents

Autounfälle vermeiden (Example: "There are lots of visible road signs so that drivers can avoid car accidents.")

to reduce air pollution / noise pollution / traffic jams

Luftverschmutzung / Lärmbelästigung / Staus reduzieren (Example: "Reducing air pollution / noise pollution / traffic jams would improve the quality of life in my hometown.")

to create green space

Grünflächen schaffen (Example: "Sofie wants to create green space in her city so her dog Nala can go on long walks.")

to make youth voices heard

die Stimmen der Jugend hörbar machen (Example: "Politicians often promise to make youth voices heard.")

to boost one’s self-confidence

das Selbstvertrauen stärken (Example: "Being able to easily travel around a city is a great way to boost one’s self-confidence.")

to reflect the needs of a community

die Bedürfnisse einer Gemeinschaft widerspiegeln (Example: "Laws should be created to reflect the needs of a community, not just a few powerful people.")

to learn about policy making

etwas über die Politikgestaltung lernen (Example: "The university student learned about policy making because she wanted to help her community.")

to make someone (more) aware of current issues

jemanden auf aktuelle Probleme aufmerksam(er) machen (Example: "Ioanna’s goal was to make the principal more aware of current issues facing her hometown in Greece.")

to bring the community together

die Gemeinschaft zusammenbringen (Example: "A local event can bring the community together and help people make new friends.")

to preserve traditions / history

Traditionen / Geschichte bewahren (Example: "Even in megacities it is important to preserve traditions / history so that we can remember our past.")

there are many entertainment options (e.g. museum, theatre, cinema, gym, etc.)

es gibt viele Unterhaltungsmöglichkeiten (z. B. Museum, Theater, Kino, Fitnessstudio, etc.) (Example: "One main benefit of living in a big city is that there are many entertainment options.")

there are more shops and restaurants

es gibt mehr Geschäfte und Restaurants (Example: "In my hometown, there are more shops and restaurants the closer you get to the centre.")

medical care is better

die medizinische Versorgung ist besser (Example: "Medical care is better in the city than in the country.")

the infrastructure is usually better (e.g. cycle lanes, pedestrian crossings, street lamps, etc.)

die Infrastruktur ist normalerweise besser (z. B. Fahrradwege, Zebrastreifen, Straßenlaternen, etc.) (Example: "The infrastructure is usually better in cities, which allows for more movement for people living there.")

there are more public transport options to get around

es gibt mehr Auswahl an öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln, um herumzukommen (Example: "In Prague, there are more public transport options to get around than in Brno.")

it is easier to find a job

es ist einfacher, einen Job zu finden (Example: "It is easier to find a job in Linz than Graz.")

it is easier to meet people from different cultural backgrounds

es ist einfacher Menschen mit verschiedener kultureller Herkunft zu treffen (Example: "It is easier to meet people from different cultural backgrounds in a big capital city like Berlin.")

there is less noise and air pollution

es gibt weniger Lärmverschmutzung und Luftverschmutzung (Example: "You should move to the countryside because there is less noise and air pollution than in the city.")

it is quiet and peaceful there

es ist dort ruhig und friedlich (Example: "I prefer the countryside because it’s quiet and peaceful there.")

there is more space to live

es gibt mehr Platz zum Leben (Example: "Karin grew up on a farm and misses it because there is more space to live out there.")

the cost of living are lower

die Lebenshaltungskosten sind niedriger (Example: "The cost of living are lower the further away you get from the big city.")

there is a lot of green space

es gibt viel Grünfläche (Example: "There is a lot of green space right outside of Vienna.")

there is usually a strong sense of community

es gibt normalerweise ein starkes Gemeinschaftsgefühl (Example: "In most villages there is usually a strong sense of community because more people tend to know each other.")

there is less traffic

es gibt weniger Verkehr (Example: "There is less traffic in the countryside because there are fewer people.")

the crime rate is lower

die Kriminalitätsrate ist niedriger (Example: "Emmalee likes living away from New Jersey because the crime rate is lower.")