The Birth of Suburbia Reading Answers

Jan 28, 2023

The Birth of Suburbia Reading Answers contains a write up about the emergence of Suburbia. The Birth of Suburbia Reading Answers contain a total of 6 paragraphs. Related to the paragraphs are 11 questions. Candidates in this IELTS Section will be shown various question types with clear instructions. The paragraphs describe all about Suburbia and its emergence and characteristic features.

The Birth of Suburbia Reading Answers is an IELTS Reading passage which comprises one type of question: True/ False and not given. Candidates must carefully and properly read each paragraph. It is necessary to interpret each text. In order to respond to the questions, you must identify the paragraph's main idea. It's vital to keep in mind the crucial facts. The answers must not exceed more than two words. The information which has not been provided in the paragraphs must be marked as not given. To gain proficiency, candidates can practice from IELTS reading practice test.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Birth of Suburbia Reading Answers

There is no single pivotal moment that could be separated out from any other as the conception of the suburban lifestyle; from the early 1800s, various types of suburban development have sprung up and evolved in their own localised ways, from the streetcar suburbs of New York to the dormitory towns outside of London. It is William Levitt, however, who is generally regarded as the father of modern suburbia. During World War II, Levitt served in the United States Navy where he developed expertise in the mass construction of military housing, a process that he streamlined using uniform and interchangeable parts. In 1947, the budding developer used this utilitarian knowledge to begin work with his father and architect brother constructing a planned community on Long Island, New York. With an emphasis on speed, efficiency, and cost-effective production, the Levitts were soon able to produce over 30 units a day.
William Levitt correctly predicted the demand for affordable, private, quiet, and comfortable homes from returning GIS after World War II and with the baby boom starting to kick in. All the original lots sold out in a matter of days, and by 1951, nearly 18,000 homes in the area had been constructed by the Levitt fit Sons Company. Levit town quickly became the prototype of mass-produced housing, spurring the construction of similar projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and even Puerto Rico, followed by a new industry, and soon a new way of life and a new ideal for the American family.
One of the major criticisms of suburbia is that it can lead to isolation and social dislocation. With properties spread out over great swathes of land, sealed off from one another by bushes, fences and trees, the emphasis of suburban life is placed squarely on privacy rather than community. In the densely populated urban settlements that predated suburbs (and that are still the predominant way of life for some people), activities such as childcare and household chores as well as sources of emotional and moral support were widely socialised. This insured that any one family would be able to draw on a pool of social resources from their neighbours, building cohabitants and family on nearby streets. Suburbia breaks these networks down into individual and nuclear family units resulting in an increase in anti-social behaviour even amongst the wealthy. Teens from wealthy suburban families, for example, are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, and use drugs than their poorer urban peers, and are also more likely to experience depression and anxiety.
Another major problem with the suburban lifestyle is its damaging ecological impact. The comparison of leafy, quiet, and low-density suburbs with life in the concrete towers of sooty, congested urban conurbations is actually quite misleading; as it turns out if you want to be kind to the natural environment, the key is to stay away from it. Suburbia fails the environmental friendliness test on a number of counts. Firstly, due to their low population density, suburbs consume natural land at a much higher rate than high-density row housing or apartment buildings. Secondly, they encourage the use of personal motor vehicles, often at a rate of one per family member, at the expense of public transport. It is also much less efficient to provide electricity and water to individual suburban houses instead of individual units in an apartment building. In his comparison of urban and suburban pollution, Edward L. Glaeser concluded that we need to “build more sky towers – especially in California”. Virtually everywhere, he found cities to be cleaner than suburbs. And the difference in carbon dioxide emissions between high-density cities and their suburbs (for example, in New York) was the highest. Urban residents of New York can claim on average to produce nearly 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide less than their suburban peers.
Another negative aspect of suburban life is its stifling conformity and monotony of social experience. It was not just the nuts and bolts and the concrete foundations of suburban houses that got replicated street on street, block upon block, and suburb upon suburb; it was everything from the shops and cultural life to people’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Suburbia gave birth to the “strip mall”, a retail establishment that is typically composed of a collection of national or global chain stores, all stocked with a centrally dictated, homogeneous array of products. The isolation and lack of interaction in suburbs have also encouraged the popularity of television, a passively receptive medium for the viewer that, in the early days at least, offered an extremely limited scope of cultural exposure compared with the wealth of experiences available in the inner city. Meanwhile, much of the inner-city “public sphere” has been lost with the suburban flight. The public sphere is the area of social life in which people come together to freely discuss and identify social problems. In the city, this has traditionally occurred around newsstands, in coffee houses, salons, theatres, meeting halls, and so on. Suburbia has not found a way to replace this special type of social experience, however. Social meeting points in the suburbs tend to be based exclusively around specific interests such as sports or cultural clubs, with no broad forms of daily social interaction.
These points do not suggest the idea of suburbia itself is flawed, but that it has not been executed in a way that takes into account the full spectrum of human needs and desires. This likely reflects the hasty, thrown-together nature of early suburban development. With the baby boom rippling across Western countries and demand for family-friendly housing skyrocketing, developers and city planners were unable to develop sophisticated models. Now, however, we should take time to consider what has gone wrong and how we can reconfigure the suburb. How can we imbue suburban life with the lost sphere of public discussion and debate? How can people maintain their privacy without sacrificing a sense of community? How can we use new technologies to make suburbs environmentally friendly? These are questions for which the developers of tomorrow will have to find answers, lest the dream of suburbia become the nightmare of Disturbia.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Question 1-11

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 1-11 on your answer sheet write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the knowledge.
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

(GUIDE: In this task type, the candidates are required to study the passage properly and then answer the questions marked from 1-5. Each question’s answer will either be true or false or not-given.)

Question 1. The emergence of suburban lifestyle came into existence in the early 1900s.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: There is no single significant moment which will be separated out from any other as the concept of the suburban lifestyle; from the beginning of the 1800’s, several types of suburban development have come up and evolved in their own local way, it has evolved from nomadic lifestyle to streetcar suburbs of New York to the lodging houses outside London.
Keywords: streetcar suburbs, lodging houses outside London
Keyword location: Para 1, line 2-5
Explanation: As per paragraph A, it has been mentioned that there isn't one key event that defines the suburban lifestyle more than any other; since the early 1800s, many different types of suburban development have emerged and developed in unique local contexts, from the nomadic lifestyle to the streetcar suburbs of New York to the accommodation houses outside of London. So, the question statement is contrary to the actual information provided in paragraph A. Hence, the answer is False.

Question 2. William Levitt is known as the Father of Suburbia, he was a pilot in the US Force.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: William Levitt, is known as the Father of Modern Suburbia. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy.
Keywords: Father of Modern Suburbia, World war II
Keyword location: Para 1, line 9-10
Explanation: As per paragraph A, it has been stated that William Levitt is typically credited as being the father of contemporary suburbia. Levitt had experience in mass-producing military housing while serving in the US Navy during World War II. He improved this process by employing standardized and interchangeable parts. The aspiring developer started working on building a planned town on Long Island, New York, with his father and architect brother in 1947 using this practical experience. So, the question statement contains wrong information. Thus, the answer is False.

Question 3. Suburbia gives an essence of community and brings everyone together.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: One of the vital criticisms of the suburbia is that it can lead to isolation and social dislocation. With properties opened up over great swathes of land, sealed from each other by bushes, fences and trees, the emphasis of suburban life is placed squarely on privacy rather than the essence of community.
Keywords: Lead to isolation, Social dislocation
Keyword location: Para 3, line 1-6
Explanation: As per paragraph C, it has been mentioned that the possibility of social isolation and dislocation in suburbia is one of the most important arguments against it. With homes spread out across large areas of land and separated from one another by shrubs, fences, and trees, suburban life places a strong focus on privacy rather than the spirit of community. So, the question statement is contrary to the actual information provided in paragraph C. Hence, the answer is False.

Question 4. Suburbia helps to maintain a perfect ecological balance.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Explanation: On the other hand, the vital problem with suburban lifestyle is the destruction of ecological impact.
Keywords: destruction of ecological impact, placed squarely
Keyword location: Para 4, line 1-9
Explanation: As per paragraph D, it has been mentioned that the deterioration of the ecological effect is the primary issue with the suburban lifestyle. The juxtaposition between living in the concrete towers of sooty, congested metropolitan conurbations and life in leafy, calm, low-density suburbs is actually quite misleading since it suggests that if you want to be fair to the environment, you should avoid it. On a number of fronts, suburbia falls short when it comes to environmental friendliness. So, the question statement is contrary to the actual information provided in paragraph D. Hence, the answer is False.

Question 5. Suburbia gives birth to socialisation

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Suburbia gave birth to the “strip mall”.
Keywords: strip mall.
Keyword location: Para 4, line 8
Explanation: As per paragraph E, it has been mentioned clearly that the "strip mall" is a type of retail institution that originated in suburbia. It is often made up of several national or international chain stores that are all stocked with a uniform, predetermined selection of goods. So, the question statement is contrary to the actual information provided in paragraph E. Hence, the answer is False.

Question 6. Suburbia fails the environmental friendliness test on a number of counts.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: Firstly due to their low population density, suburbs consume natural land at much higher rate than high density row housing or apartment buildings.
Keywords: density, row housing
Keyword location: Paragraph D, line 5^th
Explanation: As per paragraph D, it has been clearly stated that first off, compared to high-density row housing or apartment complexes, suburbs use natural land at a significantly higher rate due to their low population density. Second, they promote the use of private vehicles over public transportation, frequently one vehicle per family. Additionally, it is far less cost-effective to supply water and electricity to individual suburban homes as opposed to individual apartments in a building. So, the correct answer is True.

Question 7. The public sphere is the area of life where people isolate each other.

Answer: False.
Supporting Sentence: The public sphere is the area of social life.
Keywords: Public sphere, social life.
Keyword location: Para 4, Line 9-10
Explanation: As per paragraph E, it has been mentioned that the social space where individuals congregate to openly debate and pinpoint social issues is known as the public sphere. This has historically happened in the city near newsstands, coffee shops, salons, theaters, conference rooms, and so forth. However, suburban life hasn't figured out how to substitute this unique kind of social interaction. So, the question statement is contrary to the actual information provided in paragraph E. Hence, the answer is False.

Question 8. Social meeting points in the suburbs tend to be based exclusively around specific interests.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: specific interests such as sports or cultural clubs, with no broad forms of daily social interaction.
Keywords: Paragraph E last 2nd line
Keyword location: Exclusively, cultural clubs
Explanation: As per paragraph E, it has been clearly mentioned that suburban life hasn't figured out how to substitute this unique kind of social interaction. The suburbs typically lack frequent opportunities for casual everyday social interaction and instead focus solely on niche hobbies like sports or cultural clubs as their primary social gathering places. So, the correct answer is True.

Question 9. The isolation and lack of interaction in suburbs have also encouraged the popularity of television.

Answer: True.
Supporting Sentence: a passively receptive medium for the viewer that, in the early days at least, offered an extremely limited scope of cultural exposure compared with the wealth of experiences available in the inner city.
Keywords: Medium, cultural exposure
Keyword location: Paragraph E line 8
Explanation: As per paragraph E, it has been stated that the isolation and lack of social interaction in suburbs has also contributed to the rise in popularity of television, a passively receptive medium for viewers that, at least in its early years, offered a very small range of cultural exposure in comparison to the wealth of experiences available in the inner city. Meanwhile, the suburban flight has destroyed much of the inner-city "public space." So, the correct answer is True.

Question 10. Social meeting points in the suburbs tend to be based exclusively around one’s interest.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Social meeting points in the suburbs tend to be based exclusively around specific interests.
Keywords: specific interest, exclusively.
Keyword location: Para 5, line 24-27
Explanation: As per paragraph E, it has been mentioned that suburban life hasn't figured out how to substitute this unique kind of social interaction. The suburbs typically lack frequent opportunities for casual everyday social interaction and instead focus solely on niche hobbies like sports or cultural clubs as their primary social gathering places. So, the question statement is contrary to the actual information provided in paragraph E. Hence, the answer is False.

Question 11. The idea of suburbia is not flawed.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: These points do not suggest the idea of suburbia itself is flawed.
Keywords: idea of suburbia, flawed
Keyword location: Para 6, line 1-4
Explanation: As per paragraph F, it has been mentioned that these arguments do not argue that suburbia as a concept is faulty, but rather that it has not been implemented in a way that fully considers the range of human desires and needs. This is perhaps a reflection of the hurried, haphazard nature of early suburban construction. So, the question statement is contrary to the actual information provided in paragraph F. Hence, the answer is False.

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