F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Vocabulary

Gentrification (n): 1- the process by which a place, especially part of a city, changes from being a poor area to a richer one, where people from a higher social class live.
E.g.: Ordinary working people have been priced out of East London by gentrification.

Civic (adj): 1- of a town or city or the people who live in it.
E.g.: The prime minister met many civic leaders, including the mayor and the leaders of the immigrant communities.
E.g.: She felt it was her civic duty (= her duty as a person living in the town) to tell the police.
E.g.: The opera house is a great source of civic pride.

Collision (n): 1- an accident that happens when two vehicles hit each other with force. (v: Collide)
E.g.: There has been a collision on the southbound stretch of the motorway.
E.g.: Two drivers were killed in a head-on (= direct) collision between a car and a taxi last night.
E.g.: The cyclist was in a collision with a bus.

Man Paints Own ‘No Parking’ Lines Outside His House
(Source: breakingnewsenglish.com/1708/170802-parking-restrictions.html)

A man in New Zealand has taken road traffic safety into his own hands. For the past 20 years, Russell Taylor has been illegally painting yellow parking-restriction lines on the road outside his house. Mr Taylor told the BBC news agency that the reason for his actions was to improve traffic safety in his neighborhood in the capital, Wellington. He also wanted to protest against gentrification. Mr Taylor said he initially painted the yellow lines after becoming fed up with the local council’s lack of interest in following up residents’ complaints about road safety. He explained that he had seen numerous accidents and near-collisions on his narrow street and that his actions have made the road safer.

Wellington City Council confirmed it was aware of the road markings and that they would be removed. It pointed out that it was illegal to install “fake traffic devices,” such as Taylor’s homemade yellow lines. It said: “We’re aware of problems and complaints about parking in Holloway Road, and that the fire service had trouble getting to a house fire there in the past year because of parked vehicles.” It also said it would be meeting residents to discuss the idea of installing no parking signs. The council added that Mr Taylor would not be prosecuted for his illegal road markings. It said: “Given the glorious and healthy history of civic activism in Holloway Road, we would rather not pick an unnecessary fight.”

Pronunciation

Gentrification: /ˌdʒen.trə.fəˈkeɪ.ʃən/

Collision: /kəˈlɪʒ.ən/

Collide:  /kəˈlaɪd/