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IELTSVocabularyTopicsUrban Development

Phrasal Verbs for IELTS: Urban Development

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Created a month ago
bring down
Definition

To reduce the level, amount, or cost of something.

Examples
  • A major scandal can bring down even a strong government.
  • Public protests helped bring down the unpopular regime.

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  • bring down
    To reduce the level, amount, or cost of something.
    Examples
    • A major scandal can bring down even a strong government.
    • Public protests helped bring down the unpopular regime.
  • open up
    To make a place, service, or opportunity more accessible or available.
    Examples
    • Digital tools can open up government data to ordinary citizens.
    • Political reform may open up decision-making to wider public consultation.
  • come up against
    To face resistance, opposition, or difficulty.
    Examples
    • Reformers often come up against powerful vested interests.
    • New policies can come up against legal challenges and public resistance.
  • build up
    To gradually develop, increase, or accumulate over time.
    Examples
    • Runners build up endurance through regular training.
    • Young athletes should build up strength gradually to avoid injury.
  • spring up
    To appear or develop suddenly, especially in large numbers.
    Examples
    • Informal settlements may spring up when affordable housing is unavailable.
    • New cafés and apartment blocks often spring up after an area becomes fashionable.
  • crop up
    To appear unexpectedly, especially a problem, issue, or difficulty.
    Examples
    • New drainage problems can crop up when construction is poorly planned.
    • Delays often crop up during major infrastructure projects because of land disputes.
  • tear down
    To demolish or destroy a building or structure.
    Examples
    • Authorities may tear down unsafe buildings that violate construction rules.
    • Cities should not tear down historic neighbourhoods without considering their cultural value.
  • push out
    To force people, businesses, or communities to leave an area, often because of development pressure.
    Examples
    • Luxury redevelopment can push out long-term residents from inner-city areas.
    • Urban regeneration should not push out small local businesses.
  • price out
    To make housing, services, or an area too expensive for people to afford.
    Examples
    • Rising rents can price out low-income families from central neighbourhoods.
    • Gentrification may price out residents who have lived in an area for decades.
  • speed up
    To make a process happen faster.
    Examples
    • Digital approvals can speed up housing construction without removing safety checks.
    • Better coordination between agencies may speed up infrastructure delivery.
  • hold up
    To delay or obstruct progress.
    Examples
    • Land acquisition disputes can hold up metro expansion for years.
    • Poor coordination between departments often holds up urban development projects.
  • deal with
    To handle, manage, or respond to a problem, task, or situation.
    Examples
    • Cities must deal with waste management, congestion, and housing shortages at the same time.
    • Local authorities need practical plans to deal with illegal construction.
  • clean up
    To make a place cleaner or remove pollution, waste, or disorder.
    Examples
    • Community groups can help clean up polluted parks and riverbanks.
    • The city launched a campaign to clean up illegal dumping sites.
  • link up
    To connect places, systems, services, or groups.
    Examples
    • New bus routes can link up residential areas with metro stations.
    • Urban planners should link up cycling lanes, parks, and public transport corridors.