Section B
Passage One

Today we'll examine the role that private transportation-namely, the automobile-plays in city planning.
A number of sociologists blame the automobile for the decline of the downtown areas of major cities. In the 1950's and 1960's the automobile made it possible to work in the city and yet live in the suburbs many miles away. Shopping patterns changed: instead of flooding into downtown stores, people in the suburbs went to large shopping malls outside the city and closer their home. Merchants in the city failed; and their stores closed. Downtown shopping areas became deserted.
In recent years there has been a rebirth of the downtown area, as many suburbanites have moved back to the city. They've done this, of course, to avoid highways packed with commuters from the suburbs. Scientists are exploring this particular city planning problem and some of them have already come up with innovative solutions. They don't approach this problem from a purely sociological perspective; they try to take into account environmental and economic issues as well.

11. How did the automobile affect the work force in the 1950s and 1960s?
12. What problem did downtown area merchants face in the 1960s?
13. According to the passage, why are some people lately moving back to the city?