The city council arranged for the old houses to be pulled down as quickly as possible.

pulled 是动词 pull 的过去分词形式，pull 本意是"拉、拖"。 down 是副词，表示"向下"的方位或状态。 pulled down 是一个短语动词，字面意思是"拉倒"，引申为"拆除（建筑物）"的意思。