For the first time in history more people live in towns than in the country.
与乡村人口相比，人类历史上第一次有更多的人居住在城镇。
In Britain this has had a curious result.
这在英国产生了奇怪的结果。
While polls show Britons rate "the countryside" alongside the royal family, Shakespeare and the National Health Service (NHS) as what makes them proudest of their country, this has limited political support.
民意调查显示，尽管英国人把“乡村”与英国皇室、莎士比亚和国民医疗服务制度一起当成英国的四大骄傲，但英国人的这种观点只得到了有限的政治支持。
A century ago Octavia Hill launched the National Trust not to rescue stylish houses but to save "the beauty of natural places for everyone forever."
一个世纪前，奥克塔维亚·希尔发起成立了国民托管组织，此举不是去挽救那些雅致的房屋，而是“为所有人永久保存自然之地的美”。
It was specifically to provide city dwellers with spaces for leisure where they could experience "a refreshing air."
此举是专门为城市居民提供休闲空间，在那里他们可以呼吸新鲜空气。
Hill's pressures later led to the creation of national parks and green belts.
后来，由于希尔的助推，促成了各种国家公园和绿化带的建立。
They don't make countryside any more, and every year concrete consumes more of it.
而现在，公园和绿化带不再造就乡村，相反，混泥土建筑每年侵占更多的乡村。
It needs constant guardianship.
乡村需要持续的保护。
At the next election none of the big parties seem likely to endorse this sentiment.
但在下一届选举中，几个大党都不太可能支持这一观点。
The Conservatives' planning reform explicitly gives rural development priority over conservation, even authorizing "off-plan" building where local people might object.
保守党的规划改革明确表示要给予乡村开发而不是乡村保护优先权，该改革方案甚至批准了建造项目，但遭到了当地人的反对。
The concept of sustainable development has been defined as profitable.
可持续发展观已经被定义成了有利可图的发展。
Labour likewise wants to discontinue local planning where councils oppose development.
工党同样也想终止那些遭到地方议会反对的地方性规划。
The Liberal Democrats are silent.
而自由民主党则保持沉默。
Only Ukip, sensing its chance, has sided with those pleading for a more considered approach to using green land.
只有英国独立党支持那些呼吁政府在使用绿地方面要深思熟虑的人，因为他们觉得自己的机会来了。
Its Campaign to Protect Rural England struck terror into many local Conservative parties.
该党的“保护英国乡村运动”使许多地方性保守党胆战心惊。
The sensible place to build new houses, factories and offices is where people are, in cities and towns where infrastructure is in place.
乡村的新住房、工厂和办公室明显应该建在人聚居的地方，城镇的则要建在基础设施完善的地方。
The London agents Stirling Ackroyd recently identified enough sites for half a million houses in the London area alone, with no intrusion on green belt.
最近，伦敦房地产中介公司“Stirling Ackroyd”在伦敦找出了足够多的建设地点，这些地方能够建设五十万套住房，且不会侵占绿化带。
What is true of London is even truer of the provinces.
如果在伦敦市都能如此，那么在其他省份就更能如此了。
The idea that "housing crisis" equals "concreted meadows" is pure lobby talk.
“住房危机”等同于“混泥土草地”的这个想法是纯粹的游说说辞。
The issue is not the need for more houses but, as always, where to put them.
真正的问题不在于需要更多的住房，而是像以往一样，在哪里建设它们。
Under lobby pressure, George Osborne favours rural new-build against urban renovation and renewal.
迫于游说压力，乔治·奥斯本选择支持在乡村建设新住房，而不是对城镇进行改造和翻新。
He favours out-of-town shopping sites against high streets.
他支持在远离城镇的地方而不是商业大街上建设购物中心。
This is not a free market but a biased one.
这种做法可不是自由的市场行为，而是存在偏见的市场行为。
Rural towns and villages have grown and will always grow.
乡镇和乡村已经得到了发展，并将一直发展下去。
They do so best where building sticks to their edges and respects their character.
当把高楼大厦保持在城镇和乡村的边缘，尊重它们的特色时，城镇和乡村才能发展得最好。
We do not ruin urban conservation areas.
我们没有毁坏城镇的保护区域。
Why ruin rural ones?
却为什么要去毁坏乡村的保护区域？
Development should be planned, not let rip.
开发前需要规划，而不任其发展。
After the Netherlands, Britain is Europe's most crowded country.
英国是继荷兰之后欧洲第二拥挤的国家。
Half a century of town and country planning has enabled it to retain an enviable rural coherence, while still permitting low-density urban living.
但半世纪以来，合理的城乡规划使英国得以保留令其他国家羡慕的乡村协调性，同时还允许低密度的城镇人口。
There is no doubt of the alternative—the corrupted landscapes of southern Portugal, Spain or Ireland.
不进行合理规划所带来的后果是毋庸置疑的——无序的乡村建设使得葡萄牙南部，西班牙或爱尔兰的某些地带遭到破坏就是实例。
Avoiding this rather than promoting it should unite the left and right of the political spectrum.
应该联合英国的左派和右派势力来避免无序的乡村建设这一政策，而不是支持无序的乡村发展这一政策。