Question

cameras, for example
and not all smart city projects are having completely positive effects. in india, for example, prime minister narendra modi pledged to build 100 smart cities as a way to manage the needs of his countrys rapidly urbanizing population. yet the efforts are bumping up against challenges new and old. these include longstanding problems with land ownership documentation, developing policies to accommodate new markets and limit the old, and conflicts with vulnerable populations pushed out to make room for new smart city initiatives.
the highly publicized songdo city development in south korea involved enormous investment from the public and private sectors to create a smart city billed as an urban hub of innovation and commerce. and yet, 10 years after it began, its highest praise has been from those who call it a \work in progress.\ others, less magnanimous, have called it an outright failure. the reason should give us pause when designing other smart cities: songdo was designed and built as a top - down, \high - tech utopia\ with no history and, crucially, without people at its center.
to avoid these troubled fates, officials, business leaders, and residents alike must keep a critical eye on smart city efforts in their communities. projects must be both transparent and aimed at publicly desirable improvements in society. technology cannot become the focal point, nor the end goal. smart city innovation, like all urban development and redevelopment, is a very political process. residents must hold city leaders accountable for their efforts and their implications - which must be to improve everyones lives, not just ease government functions.
assessment questions
31 out of 34 answered
question 32
according to the article, how could smart cities worsen existing problems?
a. smart cities are more likely to attract large companies and investors, indirectly harming the economies of traditional cities.
b. certain areas of smart cities could be made more advanced than others, creating greater inequality between citizens.
c. large cities are more likely to become smart cities, creating greater inequality between cities of varying sizes.
d. citizens who live centrally in smart cities are more likely to benefit than those who live on the outskirts.

Explanation:

The text mentions that in smart - city initiatives in India, there are conflicts with vulnerable populations pushed out to make room for new projects, and in Songdo City, the design was top - down without people at its center. This implies that within smart cities, certain areas could be made more advanced than others, creating inequality among citizens. Option A focuses on the impact on traditional cities' economies, option C on the inequality between cities of different sizes, and option D on the difference between central and outskirts residents in smart cities, but the text mainly emphasizes the inequality within smart cities themselves.

Answer:

B. Certain areas of smart cities could be made more advanced than others, creating greater inequality between citizens.