Following decades of urban sprawl and declining air quality, Portland city planners decided to convert several downtown parking lots into...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Following decades of urban sprawl and declining air quality, Portland city planners decided to convert several downtown parking lots into pocket parks and green corridors. The initiative faced initial resistance from business owners who worried about reduced customer parking. Two years later, surrounding businesses reported increased foot traffic, and air quality monitors showed measurable improvements in the converted areas.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Portland's decision to reduce downtown parking availability has created ongoing conflicts with local business owners.
By converting parking lots to green spaces, Portland has successfully addressed both environmental and economic concerns in downtown areas.
Creating pocket parks requires careful consideration of business community needs to avoid economic disruption.
Urban green corridors represent the most effective strategy for improving city air quality and supporting local commerce.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Following decades of urban sprawl and declining air quality,' |
|
| 'Portland city planners decided to convert several downtown parking lots into pocket parks and green corridors.' |
|
| 'The initiative faced initial resistance from business owners who worried about reduced customer parking.' |
|
| 'Two years later, surrounding businesses reported increased foot traffic,' |
|
| 'and air quality monitors showed measurable improvements in the converted areas.' |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Portland's conversion of parking lots to green spaces successfully improved both business conditions and air quality despite initial resistance.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a problem (urban sprawl and air quality decline), describes Portland's solution (converting parking to green space), acknowledges the initial resistance from businesses concerned about parking, then reveals that two years later the initiative actually achieved both economic benefits (more foot traffic) and environmental benefits (better air quality).
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The correct answer needs to capture that Portland took action to convert parking lots to green spaces, and that this action successfully addressed both the environmental concerns (air quality) and the economic concerns (business impact)
- The key insight is that what initially seemed like it might hurt businesses actually helped them, while also achieving the environmental goal
Portland's decision to reduce downtown parking availability has created ongoing conflicts with local business owners.
✗ Incorrect - Claims there are 'ongoing conflicts' with business owners, which contradicts the passage showing that businesses ended up benefiting with increased foot traffic
By converting parking lots to green spaces, Portland has successfully addressed both environmental and economic concerns in downtown areas.
✓ Correct - Accurately captures both outcomes: environmental and economic success. 'Successfully addressed' aligns with the positive results shown two years later
Creating pocket parks requires careful consideration of business community needs to avoid economic disruption.
✗ Incorrect - Focuses only on the planning/consideration phase rather than the actual results. Misses the main point that the initiative was ultimately successful
Urban green corridors represent the most effective strategy for improving city air quality and supporting local commerce.
✗ Incorrect - Makes a broad claim about green corridors being the 'most effective strategy' that goes beyond what the passage supports