City planner: Our city center will not be adequately revitalized simpl

The city planner's conclusion is stated in the last sentence: "The city council must be aggressive in drawing new restaurants, laundries, childcare facilities, and other service industries to the city center; otherwise, the revitalization project will surely fail." How does the city planner arrive at this conclusion?

• In the first sentence, the city planner essentially asks, "If we only expand residential space in the form of high-priced condominiums, will our city center be adequately revitalized?" The answer, according the city planner, is, "No. Offering expanded residential space in the form of high-priced condominiums is not enough to revitalize the city center."
• So if condominium sales will most likely be insufficient on their own, what else is needed? According to the author, the condominium sales will only sufficiently revitalize the city center if incentives for investment in local small business are also offered. In other words, high-priced condos are not enough; in order revitalize the city center, we need both high-priced condos AND incentives for investment in local small business.
• Restaurants, laundries, childcare facilities, and other service industries are examples of local small businesses. Thus, the author implies that the city council must be aggressive in drawing small businesses to the city center by offering incentives for investment in such businesses.
• If the city council is NOT aggressive in attracting small businesses to the city center, the city center will not be successfully revitalized. The author implies that the revitalization project will only be successful if high-priced condos are offered AND if small businesses are attracted to the city center.

Now that we understand the author's reasoning, let's look for an answer choice that, if true, most weakens that reasoning:

(A) According to the passage, we need both high-priced condos AND small businesses in order to successfully revitalize the city center. The city planner implies that the city council must be aggressive in drawing small businesses to the city center by offering incentives for investment in such businesses. But what if those small businesses would come to the city center on their own, without any incentives or efforts on the part of the city council? Choice (A) is evidence that the small businesses might come to the city center on their own to take advantage of the new market. If the same thing were to happen in the city described in the passage, there would be no need for the city council to aggressively attract small businesses or to offer incentives for investment in local small business. Thus, choice (A) is evidence that the city planner's logic is not sound, so let's keep it.

(B) The city planner does not imply that proximity to service industries is the most important factor that buyers consider when choosing a residence. The author simply suggests that the revitalization project will fail if the city council does not aggressively attract small businesses to the city center, without explaining why those small businesses are necessary. Thus, choice (B) does not impact the author's reasoning and can be eliminated.

(C) We don't know why "the city council's recent attempt to attract new restaurants to the city center" was largely unsuccessful. Perhaps that attempt was a failure because the city council was not aggressive or did not offer incentives for investment in those restaurants. Or perhaps the council attempted to attract those restaurants before making plans to expand residential space, in which case investors may have seen no reason to invest in restaurants located in that part of the city. Choice (C) does not weaken the author's argument and can be eliminated.

(D) Choice (D) describes a potential financial benefit that would result from the expansion of residential space in the form of high-priced (or "luxury") condos. The author does not deny that luxury condos would have other benefits (tax revenue, job creation, etc). Instead, the author implies that the benefits will not be sufficient to revitalize the city center unless small businesses are also attracted. Choice (D) does not impact the author's reasoning and can be eliminated.

(E) The city planner does not deny that significant investment might be needed to rebuild the infrastructure and retail spaces in the area. Regardless, the city planner believes that attracting small business is necessary if the city is to revitalize the center. Choice (E) strengthens the city planner's argument because it is evidence that incentives must be offered in order to attract the significant investment that would be needed. Eliminate (E).

Choice (A) is the best answer.