Text 1Urban planners studying residential development in several metropolitan areas have documented a pattern where neighborhoods simultaneously imple...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Urban planners studying residential development in several metropolitan areas have documented a pattern where neighborhoods simultaneously implement green infrastructure projects within the same time periods. Planning consultant Maria Rodriguez argues this coordination demonstrates intentional community-wide environmental design, suggesting residents are working together to create sustainable neighborhood ecosystems through deliberate planning.
Text 2
However, this apparent coordination could stem from external factors rather than internal community planning. Municipal grant cycles, seasonal construction windows, contractor availability, and shared responses to recent flooding or heat events might explain why multiple neighborhoods pursue similar projects simultaneously without requiring assumptions about coordinated environmental planning.
What criticism would the perspective in Text 2 most likely make regarding Rodriguez's interpretation in Text 1?
The timing patterns might result from residents' lack of experience with environmental projects rather than from coordinated planning.
The simultaneous implementation might be explained by external factors rather than by assuming communities engaged in deliberate environmental coordination.
The evidence may not demonstrate coordinated planning because not all neighborhoods in the study areas implemented similar projects.
The green infrastructure projects likely indicate that these neighborhoods were attempting to increase their property values through environmental improvements.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Urban planners studying residential development in several metropolitan areas have documented a pattern where neighborhoods simultaneously implement green infrastructure projects within the same time periods." |
|
| "Planning consultant Maria Rodriguez argues this coordination demonstrates intentional community-wide environmental design" |
|
| "However, this apparent coordination could stem from external factors rather than internal community planning." |
|
| "Municipal grant cycles, seasonal construction windows, contractor availability, and shared responses to recent flooding or heat events might explain why multiple neighborhoods pursue similar projects simultaneously" |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Two texts present competing explanations for why neighborhoods implement green infrastructure simultaneously - coordinated planning versus external timing factors.
Argument Flow: Text 1 presents Rodriguez's view that simultaneous green projects indicate deliberate community coordination. Text 2 challenges this by arguing external factors like grants, seasons, and contractor availability could explain the timing without requiring any coordination assumptions.
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
- Text 2's main criticism is that Rodriguez assumes coordination when external factors could explain the same pattern
- Text 2 specifically says the coordination "could stem from external factors rather than internal community planning" and lists concrete examples like grant cycles and construction windows
- The criticism should capture this core disagreement - that external timing factors eliminate the need to assume deliberate coordination
The timing patterns might result from residents' lack of experience with environmental projects rather than from coordinated planning.
- Focuses on residents' "lack of experience" as the criticism
- Text 2 doesn't mention experience levels at all - it focuses on external timing factors like grants and seasons
The simultaneous implementation might be explained by external factors rather than by assuming communities engaged in deliberate environmental coordination.
- Directly captures Text 2's central argument that "external factors rather than internal community planning" explain the pattern
- Matches the passage language about external factors versus coordinated planning assumptions
The evidence may not demonstrate coordinated planning because not all neighborhoods in the study areas implemented similar projects.
- Suggests the criticism is about incomplete coverage ("not all neighborhoods")
- Text 2 doesn't question whether all neighborhoods participated - it questions the explanation for why those that did participate acted simultaneously
The green infrastructure projects likely indicate that these neighborhoods were attempting to increase their property values through environmental improvements.
- Introduces property values as a motive, which appears nowhere in either text
- Text 2's criticism focuses on timing explanations, not motivations for the projects