urbanization

noun

ur·​ban·​i·​za·​tion ˌər-bə-nə-ˈzā-shən 

: the quality or state of being urbanized or the process of becoming urbanized

Did you know?

The word urbanization started appearing in print way back in the 1880s, which says something about the growth of American cities. The expansion of Los Angeles was an early example of uncontrolled urbanization. Urbanization is often seen as a negative trend, with bad effects on quality of life and the environment. But apartments require much less heat than houses, and commuting by mass transit rather than cars can reduce pollution and energy use, and cities offer improved opportunities for jobs (and often for education and housing as well), so city growth doesn't make everyone unhappy.

Examples of urbanization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The growing importance of urbanization in the economics and politics of African states is reflected in the recent explosion of academic works on cities in the region. —Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

Overview Of The Current Real Estate Market Fast urbanization continues to play a role in real estate. —Nathan Levinson, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Rapid industrialization and urbanization had created a host of issues, including poverty, domestic abuse, poor working conditions in factories and political corruption. —Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025

With the growth of urbanization and middle-class development in emerging markets, untapped investment opportunities are now also available in the areas of transportation and housing. —Jeffrey Bartel, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for urbanization

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration