Suburbanization is linked to which development?

• A. The automobile
• B. Population growth in rural areas
• C. The decline of car ownership
• D. The increase in urban density

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that moving to the suburbs was made possible by widespread car ownership. When many households could afford cars, people could live farther from crowded city centers and still commute to work, shop, and access services. This mobility, reinforced by highway expansion and affordable suburban housing, spurred suburban growth outward from urban cores.

That’s why the automobile best explains suburbanization. When car ownership increases, commuting from suburbs becomes practical, and development concentrates around transport routes into the city. In contrast, growth in rural areas doesn’t explain a shift outward from cities, a decline in car ownership would reduce people’s ability to commute from outside the city, and increasing urban density actually describes people moving into cities, not out to the suburbs.