In assessing the urban renewal projects of the mid-20th century, many contemporary architectural historians emphasize the tragic loss of historic neighborhoods. However, the 'civic modernists'—a prominent faction of urban planners active during the 1950s—viewed these exact same historic districts not as cultural treasures, but as chaotic, inefficient impediments to social progress. For the civic modernists, true aesthetic beauty and social harmony could only be achieved through rational, grid-based layouts and the mass deployment of standardized concrete structures, which they believed would inherently democratize living conditions by stripping away the unequal, piecemeal development of the past.
Based on the passage, the 'civic modernists' would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements regarding historic neighborhoods?
- AHistoric neighborhoods were cultural treasures whose destruction constituted a tragic loss for urban centers.
- BHistoric neighborhoods were characterized by a piecemeal development that represents the highest form of aesthetic beauty.
- Historic neighborhoods represented disorganized barriers to social improvement rather than valuable cultural heritage.Answer
- DHistoric neighborhoods were the single greatest cause of social inequality in mid-20th century cities.
- EHistoric neighborhoods should have been preserved by carefully incorporating them into rational, grid-based layouts.