Final answer:
The statement provided by the student is not entirely accurate; while population increases in cities did lead to people moving away from city centers, they primarily moved to suburbs and exurbs, not rural areas.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement given by the student suggests that as populations increased in the city, people began to move outward to rural areas to avoid traffic. However, this statement is not entirely accurate according to historical trends and the given reference material. While increasing urban populations did lead to people moving away from city centers, they did not primarily return to rural areas; instead, they moved to suburbs and, later, exurbs.
These residential areas surround the city and are close enough to allow for daily commutes while providing more living space than within the city itself.The phenomenon of moving out from the city centers because of urban issues such as congestion, high cost of living, and other challenges is part of a historical trend termed suburbanization.
This movement was not just to avoid traffic but also to seek better living conditions, more space, and often as a response to socio-economic changes like white flight. The creation of exurbs can be attributed to factors such as urban sprawl, and not solely the high cost of suburban living or the housing boom of the 1980s, making option 'a' the correct answer to Exercise 13.3.3.
Suburban areas continued to develop and spread out further from city centers, which, in fact, can contribute to traffic congestion rather than alleviate it. These newly developed areas require extended commute times and distance, leading to increased use of natural resources, particularly petroleum, and consequently higher carbon emissions.