Over the past 50 years, expansive, low-density communities have

Question

Over the past 50 years, expansive, low-density
communities have proliferated at the edges of many
cities in the United States and Canada, creating a
phenomenon known as suburban sprawl. Andres
  (5)   Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck, a
group of prominent town planners belonging to a
movement called New Urbanism, contend that
suburban sprawl contributes to the decline of civic
life and civility. For reasons involving the flow of
  (10)   automobile traffic, they note, zoning laws usually
dictate that suburban homes, stores, businesses, and
schools be built in separate areas, and this separation
robs people of communal space where they can
interact and get to know one another. It is as difficult
  (15)   to imagine the concept of community without a town
square or local pub, these town planners contend, as
it is to imagine the concept of family independent of
the home.

Suburban housing subdivisions, Duany and his
  (20)   colleagues add, usually contain homes identical not
only in appearance but also in price, resulting in a de
facto economic segregation of residential
neighborhoods. Children growing up in these
neighborhoods, whatever their economic
  (25)   circumstances, are certain to be ill prepared for life in
a diverse society. Moreover, because the widely
separated suburban homes and businesses are
connected only by “collector roads,” residents are
forced to drive, often in heavy traffic, in order to
  (30)   perform many daily tasks. Time that would in a town
center involve social interaction within a physical
public realm is now spent inside the automobile,
where people cease to be community members and
instead become motorists, competing for road space,
  (35)   often acting antisocially. Pedestrians rarely act in this
manner toward each other. Duany and his colleagues
advocate development based on early-twentieth-
century urban neighborhoods that mix housing of
different prices and offer residents a “gratifying
  (40)   public realm” that includes narrow, tree-lined streets,
parks, corner grocery stores, cafes, small
neighborhood schools, all within walking distance.
This, they believe, would give people of diverse
backgrounds and lifestyles an opportunity to interact
  (45)   and thus develop mutual respect.

Opponents of New Urbanism claim that migration
to sprawling suburbs is an expression of people’s
legitimate desire to secure the enjoyment and
personal mobility provided by the automobile and the
  (50)   lifestyle that it makes possible. However, the New
Urbanists do not question people’s right to their own
values; instead, they suggest that we should take a
more critical view of these values and of the sprawl
conducive zoning and subdivision policies that reflect
  (55)   them. New Urbanists are fundamentally concerned
with the long-term social costs of the now-prevailing
attitude that individual mobility, consumption, and
wealth should be valued absolutely, regardless of their
impact on community life.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) In their critique of policies that promote suburban sprawl, the New Urbanists neglect to consider the interests and values of those who prefer suburban lifestyles.
(B) The New Urbanists hold that suburban sprawl inhibits social interaction among people of diverse economic circumstances, and they advocate specific reforms of zoning laws as a solution to this problem.
(C) The New Urbanists argue that most people find that life in small urban neighborhoods is generally more gratifying than life in a
suburban environment.
(D) The New Urbanists hold that suburban sprawl has a corrosive effect on community life, and as an alternative they advocate development modeled on small urban neighborhoods.
(E) The New Urbanists analyze suburban sprawl as a phenomenon that results from short-sighted traffic policies and advocate changes to these traffic policies as a means of reducing the negative effects of sprawl.

2 
 2. According to the passage, the New Urbanists cite which one of the following as a detrimental result of the need for people to travel extensively every day by automobile?

(A) It imposes an extra financial burden on the residents of sprawling suburbs, thus detracting from the advantages of suburban life.
(B) It detracts from the amount of time that people could otherwise devote to productive employment.
(C) It increases the amount of time people spend in situations in which antisocial behavior occurs.
(D) It produces significant amounts of air pollution and thus tends to harm the quality of people’s lives.
(E) It decreases the amount of time that parents spend in enjoyable interactions with their
children.

3 
 3. The passage most strongly suggests that the New Urbanists would agree with which one of the following statements?

(A) The primary factor affecting a neighborhood’s conduciveness to the maintenance of civility is the amount of time required to get from one place to another.
(B) Private citizens in suburbs have little opportunity to influence the long-term effects of zoning policies enacted by public officials.
(C) People who live in suburban neighborhoods usually have little difficulty finding easily accessible jobs that do not require commuting to urban centers.
(D) The spatial configuration of suburban neighborhoods both influences and is influenced by the attitudes of those who live in them.
(E) Although people have a right to their own values, personal values should not affect the ways in which neighborhoods are designed.

4 
 4. Which one of the following most accurately describes the author’s use of the word “communities” in line 2 and “community” in line 15?

(A) They are intended to be understood in almost identical ways, the only significant difference being that one is plural and the other is singular.
(B) The former is intended to refer to dwellings— and their inhabitants—that happen to be clustered together in particular areas; in the latter, the author means that a group of people have a sense of belonging together.
(C) In the former, the author means that the groups referred to are to be defined in terms of the interests of their members; the latter is intended to refer generically to a group of people who have something else in common.
(D) The former is intended to refer to groups of people whose members have professional or political ties to one another; the latter is intended to refer to a geographical area in which people live in close proximity to one another.
(E) In the former, the author means that there are informal personal ties among members of a group of people; the latter is intended to indicate that a group of people have similar backgrounds and lifestyles.

5 
 5. Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the position that the passage attributes to critics of the New Urbanists?

(A) Most people who spend more time than they would like getting from one daily task to another live in central areas of large cities.
(B) Most people who often drive long distances for shopping and entertainment live in small towns rather than in suburban areas surrounding large cities.
(C) Most people who have easy access to shopping and entertainment do not live in suburban areas.
(D) Most people who choose to live in sprawling suburbs do so because comparable housing in neighborhoods that do not require extensive automobile travel is more expensive.
(E) Most people who vote in municipal elections do not cast their votes on the basis of candidates’ positions on zoning policies.

6 
 6. The passage most strongly suggests that which one of the following would occur if new housing subdivisions in suburban communities were built in accordance with the recommendations of Duany and his colleagues?

(A) The need for zoning laws to help regulate traffic flow would eventually be eliminated.
(B) There would be a decrease in the percentage of suburban buildings that contain two or more apartments.
(C) The amount of time that residents of suburbs spend traveling to the central business districts of cities for work and shopping would increase.
(D) The need for coordination of zoning policies between large-city governments and governments of nearby suburban communities would be eliminated.
(E) There would be an increase in the per capita number of grocery stores and schools in those suburban communities.

7 
 7. The second paragraph most strongly supports the inference that the New Urbanists make which one of the following assumptions?

(A) Most of those who buy houses in sprawling suburbs do not pay drastically less than they can afford.
(B) Zoning regulations often cause economically uniform suburbs to become economically diverse.
(C) City dwellers who do not frequently travel in automobiles often have feelings of hostility toward motorists.
(D) Few residents of suburbs are aware of the potential health benefits of walking, instead of driving, to carry out daily tasks.
(E) People generally prefer to live in houses that look very similar to most of the other houses around them.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

5. Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the position that the passage attributes to critics of the New Urbanists?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

The critics say, in the beginning of the third paragraph, that the expansion of suburban sprawl is the result of people’s legitimate desire to have what the suburbs offer due to the automobile. This could be weakened by suggesting that it is the result of something else.

A. No.  The answer choice does not weaken the claims of the critics; it weakens the New Urbanists claims that suburban life leads to greater travel times.

B. No.  This might weaken the New Urbanists’ claim that people in suburbs spend a lot of time driving and this time influences their interactions with each other, but it does not weaken the critics of the New Urbanists.

C. No.  The critics claim that the suburbs offer the enjoyment and personal mobility afforded by the automobile, but this is not necessarily the same as easy access to shopping and entertainment. This access is irrelevant to the critics’ argument.

D.  Yes.   This suggests an alternate reason that people might choose to live in the suburbs: price. They do not desire the advantages of the automobile; they just can’t afford anything else comparable.

E. No.  Even if there are other important issues in municipal elections, this issue of zoning could agree or disagree with the critics.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

6. The passage most strongly suggests that which one of the following would occur if new housing subdivisions in suburban communities were built in accordance with the recommendations of Duany and his colleagues?

Difficulty Level:   650-700

Explanation

Duany and his colleagues suggest building mixed neighborhoods at the end of the second paragraph.

A. No.  Zoning laws would enforce Duany’s proposals anyway, so zoning laws would remain in place.

B. No.  The number of such buildings might change, but this is not mentioned in the passage.

C. No.  The goal was to put grocery stores and other work and shopping facilities within walking distance of everyone, so the amount of time spent traveling to get to these would likely decrease rather than increase.

D. No.  The coordination of zoning policies is not discussed in the passage.

E.  Yes.   The grocery stores and schools were described as  “corner grocery stores”  and  “small neighborhood schools,”  indicating that they would be small. To service the same areas and numbers of people, there would need to be more of them.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

7. The second paragraph most strongly supports the inference that the New Urbanists make which one of the following assumptions?

Difficulty Level:   700+

Explanation

A.  Yes.   At the beginning of the second paragraph, Duany and his colleagues point out that subdivisions contain identically priced houses and conclude that the financial statuses of the families that inhabit them must be similar (resulting in economic segregation). If most people who bought suburban houses did pay drastically less than they could afford, then the housing prices would not be a good way to approximate the incomes of the resident families, so the areas might not be economically segregated.

B. No.  This is the opposite of what the New Urbanists say actually happens. The suburban sprawls are usually economically segregated because of zoning.

C. No.  The hostilities are between motorist and motorist in the second paragraph, not between nom-motorist and motorist.

D. No.  Awareness of potential health benefits is not discussed in the passage.

E. No.  The passage indicates that people typically do this in suburban sprawl, but it does not indicate that people prefer this.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. The passage most strongly suggests that the New Urbanists would agree with which one of the following statements?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

New Urbanists, in general, think that suburban sprawl has negative effects on communities, that mixed neighborhoods would be better, and that the values that generate suburban sprawl need to be examined critically.

A. No.  While the passage indicates that New Urbanists think that car travel, as opposed to pedestrian travel, is one reason that people are less civil to each other in suburbs, the passage does not indicate that it is the most important factor.

B. No.  Whether the private citizens can influence the zoning effects is not discussed in the passage.

C. No.  In the second paragraph, the passage indicates that people are required to drive to get more or less anywhere, so this contradicts the passage.

D.  Yes.   The spatial configuration of suburbs influencing attitudes of those who live in them was mentioned in the first and second paragraphs (making people more antisocial, among other things). The spatial configuration of suburbs being influenced by the attitudes of those who live in them is in the third paragraph.

E. No.  The New Urbanists don’t say that valueless design is necessary (or even possible). The third paragraph argues that the values need to be examined critically.

Answer: D

Raman109 · Answer

7. The second paragraph most strongly supports the inference that the New Urbanists make which one of the following assumptions?

New Urbanists' main critique is that the suburban setting leads to economic segregation and a lack of social interactions, which means interacting with diverse people. What if my capacity is to live in a $1 million house, but I live in an apartment and pay substantially less? By this virtue, I am already staying in a diverse community.

(A) Most of those who buy houses in sprawling suburbs do not pay drastically less than they can afford. - ok. Negation will weaken New Urbanists' argument.

(B) Zoning regulations often cause economically uniform suburbs to become economically diverse. - Distortion.

(C) City dwellers who do not frequently travel in automobiles often have feelings of hostility toward motorists.  - out of scope.

(D) Few residents of suburbs are aware of the potential health benefits of walking, instead of driving, to carry out daily tasks. - out of scope.

(E) People generally prefer to live in houses that look very similar to most of the other houses around them. - the main argument for new urbanists in the economic aspect and not aesthetics. Out of scope.

arushi118 · Answer

Can someone please explain that why can it not be B for Question 1?
 Sajjad1994

guddo · Answer

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

The New Urbanism planners (Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Jeff Speck) argue that suburban sprawl in the United States and Canada weakens community life by separating daily life into car dependent zones and by economically segregating neighborhoods, and they favor walkable, mixed, neighborhood style development as an alternative; they also say we should be more critical of the values and policies that support sprawl.

(A) In their critique of policies that promote suburban sprawl, the New Urbanists neglect to consider the interests and values of those who prefer suburban lifestyles.

This is wrong because the passage says the New Urbanists do not question people’s right to their values; they just want those values and policies examined more critically.

(B) The New Urbanists hold that suburban sprawl inhibits social interaction among people of diverse economic circumstances, and they advocate specific reforms of zoning laws as a solution to this problem.

This is too narrow. The passage is not mainly about “diverse economic circumstances” or only zoning law reform; it is about broader damage to civic life and an alternative development model.

(C) The New Urbanists argue that most people find that life in small urban neighborhoods is generally more gratifying than life in a suburban environment.

This is not stated. The passage never claims most people find small urban neighborhoods more gratifying; it only says New Urbanists believe such places provide a better public realm.

(D) The New Urbanists hold that suburban sprawl has a corrosive effect on community life, and as an alternative they advocate development modeled on small urban neighborhoods.

This matches best: the New Urbanists say sprawl has a corrosive effect on community life, and they propose small neighborhood modeled development as the alternative.  This captures the passage’s main point.

(E) The New Urbanists analyze suburban sprawl as a phenomenon that results from short-sighted traffic policies and advocate changes to these traffic policies as a means of reducing the negative effects of sprawl.

This misstates the cause and the fix. The passage mentions traffic effects, but it does not say sprawl mainly results from short sighted traffic policies, nor does it frame the solution as changing traffic policies.

Answer: (D)

guddo · Answer

It can’t be B because it’s  too specific  compared to the passage’s main point.

B says the core problem is “inhibits social interaction among people of diverse economic circumstances” and that they “advocate specific reforms of zoning laws as a solution.” But the passage’s main claim is broader: sprawl harms  community life and civility  in multiple ways (loss of communal space, car isolation, antisocial behavior, economic segregation), and the alternative is a whole neighborhood model, not just zoning reform.

So B captures one strand, but D captures the full thesis.

Over the past 50 years, expansive, low-density communities have

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Over the past 50 years, expansive, low-density communities have

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