Self-study
P1
Over the past 50 years, expansive, low-density .
Intro to Phenomenon ·
Rise of suburban sprawl
Problem ·
Suburban sprawl causes decline of civic life
New Urbanists view the phenomenon (suburban sprawl) as a problem.
Cause of Problem ·
Zoning laws create physical separation
New Urbanists claim that zoning laws that separate spaces by function (commercial, residential, school, etc.) also precludes communal spaces (like a town square). This is likened to a family that doesn't have a home.
P2
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Aspect of Problem ·
Economic separation
The housing subdivisions tend to be identical in price hence children growing up will be sheltered from exposure to economic diversity.
Aspect of Problem ·
Cars erode civility
Since roads connect the various subdivisions, people spend more time in cars which encourages antisocial behavior.
Solution ·
Mix housing and public space
New Urbanists believe that mix housing (different prices) and walkable public spaces will encourage civic interactions.
P3
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Opponents' Critique ·
Suburban sprawl is an expression of people's values
Opponents do not frame the phenomenon as a problem. Instead, they view it as a legitimate desire to have the kind of lifestyle that suburban sprawl makes possible (house, car, backyard, etc.).
New Urbanists' Rebuttal ·
Take a critical view of values and consider the conflict with other values
New Urbanists just want people to take a critical view of these values (individual mobility, consumption, etc.) and to consider that it may conflict with other values (civic engagement, community life, etc.).
Passage Style
Critique or debate
Problem-analysis
1.
Which one of the following ████ ██████████ █████████ ███ ████ █████ ██ ███ ████████
a
In their critique ██ ████████ ████ ███████ ████████ ███████ ███ ███ █████████ ███████ ██ ████████ ███ █████████ ███ ██████ ██ █████ ███ ██████ ████████ ███████████
The author doesn’t accuse the New Urbanists of neglecting anything. So (A) can’t capture the main point of the passage.
b
The New Urbanists ████ ████ ████████ ██████ ████████ ██████ ███████████ █████ ██████ ██ ███████ ████████ ██████████████ ███ ████ ████████ ████████ ███████ ██ ██████ ████ ██ █ ████████ ██ ████ ████████
This is too narrow. The New Urbanists complain about more than just limited social interaction. In addition, we don’t get any description of advocacy for specific reforms to zoning laws. Rather, the New Urbanists advocate for development based on early 20th-century urban neighborhoods.
c
The New Urbanists █████ ████ ████ ██████ ████ ████ ████ ██ █████ █████ █████████████ ██ █████████ ████ ██████████ ████ ████ ██ █ ████████ ████████████
This doesn’t capture the New Urbanists’ view of the problem caused by suburban sprawl. The main point involves criticism of suburban sprawl and the solution to this problem; it’s not just about what kind of neighborhood people find more gratifying.
d
The New Urbanists ████ ████ ████████ ██████ ███ █ █████████ ██████ ██ █████████ █████ ███ ██ ██ ███████████ ████ ████████ ███████████ ███████ ██ █████ █████ ██████████████
This is the best answer, because it captures the author’s description of the
e
The New Urbanists ███████ ████████ ██████ ██ █ ██████████ ████ ███████ ████ █████████████ ███████ ████████ ███ ████████ ███████ ██ █████ ███████ ████████ ██ █ █████ ██ ████████ ███ ████████ ███████ ██ ███████
We don’t get any description of New Urbanists’ advocacy for changes to traffic policies.