Urban planner Jane Jacobs advocated for dense, mixed-use neighborhoods that encouraged pedestrian activity and street-level commerce. Her influential ...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Urban planner Jane Jacobs advocated for dense, mixed-use neighborhoods that encouraged pedestrian activity and street-level commerce. Her influential book 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' argued that successful urban areas required diversity in building types, residents, and daily activities. _____ Jacobs emphasized that frequent sidewalk usage by locals created the informal surveillance that made neighborhoods safe.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
However,
By contrast,
Furthermore,
On the other hand,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Urban planner Jane Jacobs advocated for dense, mixed-use neighborhoods that encouraged pedestrian activity and street-level commerce.' |
|
| 'Her influential book The Death and Life of Great American Cities argued that successful urban areas required diversity in building types, residents, and daily activities.' |
|
| 'Jacobs emphasized that frequent sidewalk usage by locals created the informal surveillance that made neighborhoods safe.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Jane Jacobs believed that successful urban neighborhoods required both diversity and active street life to function properly.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces Jacobs' general philosophy about dense, mixed-use neighborhoods, then presents her book's specific argument about the need for diversity, and finally adds another key component of her theory about how sidewalk activity creates neighborhood safety.
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 sentence before the blank discusses Jacobs' argument about diversity being necessary for successful urban areas
- The sentence after the blank presents another element of her theory - that sidewalk usage creates safety through informal surveillance
- Both sentences are about what makes neighborhoods work well according to Jacobs
- The second sentence doesn't contradict the first - it adds another component to her overall theory
- So the right answer should be a transition that shows we're continuing or adding to the discussion of Jacobs' ideas about successful neighborhoods
However,
✗ Incorrect
- 'However' signals a contrast or contradiction
- The sentence after the blank doesn't contradict the diversity argument - it adds another component of successful neighborhoods
By contrast,
✗ Incorrect
- 'By contrast' explicitly signals opposition between ideas
- There's no opposition between needing diversity and needing sidewalk activity for safety - both support successful neighborhoods
Furthermore,
✓ Correct
- 'Furthermore' signals addition or continuation of related ideas
- Perfectly connects the diversity argument with the additional point about sidewalk safety
- Both sentences discuss different aspects of what Jacobs believed made neighborhoods successful
On the other hand,
✗ Incorrect
- 'On the other hand' signals contrast or alternative perspective
- Like the other contrast transitions, this incorrectly suggests the safety point contradicts the diversity point