Comprehension
The magic of squatter cities is that they are improved steadily and gradually by their residents. To a planner’s eye, these cities look chaotic. I trained as a biologist and to my eye, they look organic. Squatter cities are also unexpectedly green. They have maximum density—1 million people per square mile in some areas of Mumbai—and have minimum energy and material use. People get around by foot, bicycle, rickshaw, or the universal shared taxi.
Not everything is efficient in the slums, though. In the Brazilian favelas where electricity is stolen and therefore free, people leave their lights on all day. But in most slums recycling is literally a way of life. The Dharavi slum in Mumbai has 400 recycling units and 30,000 ragpickers. Six thousand tons of rubbish are sorted every day. In 2007, the Economist reported that in Vietnam and Mozambique, “Waves of gleaners sift the sweepings of Hanoi’s streets, just as Mozambiquan children pick over the rubbish of Maputo’s main tip. Every city in Asia and Latin America has an industry based on gathering up old cardboard boxes.” . . .
In his 1985 article, Calthorpe made a statement that still jars with most people: “The city is the most environmentally benign form of human settlement. Each city dweller consumes less land, less energy, less water, and produces less pollution than his counterpart in settlements of lower densities.” “Green Manhattan” was the inflammatory title of a 2004 New Yorker article by David Owen. “By the most significant measures,” he wrote, “New York is the greenest community in the United States, and one of the greenest cities in the world . . . The key to New York’s relative environmental benignity is its extreme compactness. . . . Placing one and a half million people on a twenty-three-square-mile island sharply reduces their opportunities to be wasteful.” He went on to note that this very compactness forces people to live in the world’s most energy-efficient apartment buildings. . . .
Urban density allows half of humanity to live on 2.8 per cent of the land. . . . Consider just the infrastructure efficiencies. According to a 2004 UN report: “The concentration of population and enterprises in urban areas greatly reduces the unit cost of piped water, sewers, drains, roads, electricity, garbage collection, transport, health care, and schools.” . . . [T]he nationally subsidised city of Manaus in northern Brazil “answers the question” of how to stop deforestation: give people decent jobs. Then they can afford houses, and gain security. One hundred thousand people who would otherwise be deforesting the jungle around Manaus are now prospering in town making such things as mobile phones and televisions. . . .
Of course, fast-growing cities are far from an unmitigated good. They concentrate crime, pollution, disease and injustice as much as business, innovation, education and entertainment. . . . But if they are overall a net good for those who move there, it is because cities offer more than just jobs. They are transformative: in the slums, as well as the office towers and leafy suburbs, the progress is from hick to metropolitan to cosmopolitan . . .
Question: 1

Which one of the following statements would undermine the author’s stand regarding the greenness of cities? 

Updated On: Jul 28, 2025
  • The compactness of big cities in the West increases the incidence of violent crime.

  • The high density of cities leads to an increase in carbon dioxide and global warming. 

  • Over the last decade the cost of utilities has been increasing for city dwellers.
  • Sorting through rubbish contributes to the rapid spread of diseases in the slums.
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

To determine which statement undermines the author's stand on the greenness of cities, we must consider the author's main arguments regarding urban density and environmental impact. 

The author suggests that:

  • Cities are environmentally beneficial because they have high density, reducing land and resource usage.
  • This density leads to energy efficiency and less pollution per capita.
  • Urban areas enable efficient infrastructure usage, reducing the costs and environmental footprint.
  • Though not perfect, cities' advantages outweigh the negatives.

Given these points, the statement that most contradicts the author's position is:

The high density of cities leads to an increase in carbon dioxide and global warming.

This challenges the core argument that urban density leads to reduced pollution and enhanced environmental sustainability.

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Question: 2

According to the passage, squatter cities are environment-friendly for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

Updated On: Jul 26, 2025
  • they recycle material.

  • their transportation is energy efficient. 

  • they sort out garbage.
  • their streets are kept clean.
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

The passage evaluates the environmental aspects of squatter cities, highlighting their efficiency in recycling and energy use. According to the passage, squatter cities are environmentally beneficial for reasons such as recycling materials and efficient transport. The provided options are analyzed based on the passage:
  • Squatter cities recycle material: This is confirmed by the recycling activities in regions like Dharavi, where recycling is a significant component of life.
  • Their transportation is energy efficient: The passage describes transport modes like walking, bicycles, and shared taxis as energy-efficient.
  • They sort out garbage: The mention of sorting activities by ragpickers and gleaners supports this.
  • Their streets are kept clean: The passage does not specifically mention the cleanliness of streets as being environmentally beneficial.
The exclusion of "their streets are kept clean" as a reason for being environmentally friendly is supported since the text does not mention this specific aspect. Therefore, the correct answer is that squatter cities are environment-friendly for all reasons mentioned except that their streets are kept clean.
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Question: 3

We can infer that Calthorpe’s statement “still jars” with most people because most people:

Updated On: Jul 26, 2025
  • do not regard cities as good places to live in.
  • consider cities to be very crowded and polluted.

  • regard cities as places of disease and crime. 

  • do not consider cities to be eco-friendly places.
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

We are tasked with inferring why Calthorpe’s statement “still jars” with most people, based on the comprehension provided. The comprehension discusses the environmental efficiency of urban density and squatter cities. Despite their chaotic appearance, these cities are described as having ecological benefits due to their compactness. The key aspects highlighted include the reduction in land, energy, and resource consumption per individual when compared to less dense settlements. 

The comprehension mentions that people often have negative perceptions of cities, associating them with issues like crime, pollution, and disease. However, the focus here is to determine why Calthorpe's assertion about cities being "environmentally benign" is jarring.

Analyzing the comprehension, the main reason the statement jars is due to the commonly held belief that cities are not considered eco-friendly places. While the text explains the environmental benefits of city density, it contrasts with the perception that cities contribute to environmental hazards, which Calthorpe’s statement challenges.

Considering this analysis, the best option aligns with the idea that most people:

  • do not consider cities to be eco-friendly places.
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Question: 4

In the context of the passage, the author refers to Manaus in order to:

Updated On: Jul 26, 2025
  • explain where cities source their labour for factories.
  • promote cities as employment hubs for people.
  • explain how urban areas help the environment.

  • describe the infrastructure efficiencies of living in a city. 

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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The author refers to Manaus to illustrate how urban areas contribute positively to the environment. The passage highlights the transformative effects that cities can have, particularly in reducing environmental impact. It mentions several points supporting this including: 

  • Urban Areas Help Environment: Urban centers, despite their high density, often consume fewer resources per capita. The concentration of people and businesses in cities leads to more efficient infrastructure use, which is environmentally beneficial.
  • Manaus Example: The example of Manaus is used to demonstrate how providing people with jobs in urban settings can lead to reduced deforestation. By offering jobs in cities like Manaus, people who might have otherwise contributed to deforestation are rather engaged in manufacturing goods like mobile phones and televisions.
  • Urban Density Benefits: The passage further notes that urban density allows a significant portion of humanity to occupy a small land area, thus conserving energy, reducing pollution, and consuming fewer resources overall.

These points align with the choice that the author mentions Manaus to explain how urban areas help the environment, forming a central theme in the discussion about the positive roles cities can play, especially regarding ecological concerns. Therefore, the correct answer is: explain how urban areas help the environment.

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Question: 5

From the passage it can be inferred that cities are good places to live in for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that they: 

Updated On: Jul 26, 2025

  • help prevent destruction of the environment. 

  • have suburban areas as well as office areas. 

  • offer employment opportunities.
  • contribute to the cultural transformation of residents.
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

To solve the problem, we first need to understand which benefits of city living are explicitly supported by the passage. The passage discusses various aspects of city living, highlighting benefits such as:
  1. Environmental advantages due to compact living, which reduces energy and resource consumption.
  2. Recycling and efficient use of resources in areas like slums.
  3. Employment opportunities as residents have access to jobs, which can prevent environmental destruction (e.g., deforestation).
  4. Cultural transformation due to urban density and the presence of cosmopolitan characteristics.
Now, let's evaluate each option:
  • Option 1: Help prevent destruction of the environment. This is supported as cities reduce land use and pollution, offering an environmentally benign form of settlement.
  • Option 2: Have suburban areas as well as office areas. The passage does not discuss the presence of suburban areas, focusing primarily on the urban and slum environments.
  • Option 3: Offer employment opportunities. This is supported by the mention of jobs preventing jungle deforestation and people prospering in urban areas.
  • Option 4: Contribute to the cultural transformation of residents. The passage notes the cultural evolution from rural to metropolitan to cosmopolitan living, which is a form of cultural transformation.
Based on the analysis, the feature of having suburban areas and office areas is not directly supported by the passage. Hence, the correct answer is:
have suburban areas as well as office areas.
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