urbanization
noun
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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
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Within individual river catchments, changes such as clearing native land cover for agriculture or urbanization alters how precipitation moves into river corridors and can either increase or decrease the size and return interval of floods.
—Ellen Wohl
august 20, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2025
This spatial patriarchy is as old as industrialization and urbanization.
—Kayla Gabehart, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2025
The discovery deepens the understanding of craftsmanship in Israel, as well as urbanization during the Bronze Age, the IAA added.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for urbanization
Cite this Entry
“Urbanization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urbanization. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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