Which role of marketing research address "what if" questions? select one: a. prescriptive b. descriptive c. predictive d. diagnostic?

I believe the answer is: C. predictive
In marketing, predictive role refers to the marketing function to analyze historical data and use them to forecast potential event that might happen in the future.
Since the forecast is only based on assumption, the questions around it is asked with 'what if?'

Urban growth invariably feeds increased commercialization and industrialization. it requires continually expanding land areas. when urbanization rates are high, and countries do not have the institutional and managerial capacities or economic wherewithal to manage such rapid growths, they exert intense pressure on the types and nature of the resulting settlements. they contribute to the development of overcrowded slums and shanty towns without adequate essential services and necessary infrastructure.-by asit k. biswas and cecilia tortajada

C. equitable; undue influence