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

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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

Recent Examples on the Web

The effects of urbanization The county has prided itself on maintaining the overall tree canopy levels between the 2016 and 2020 surveys. —Alyssa Johnson, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2025

Featuring work by 30 artists, the exhibition conveyed stories of social upheaval, economic collapse, and the complexities of rapid urbanization. —Nargess Banks, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025

In his 2005 book Planet of Slums, Mike Davis pointed out that, since the Seventies, the world’s poor countries have urbanized at a rate that puts Europe’s nineteenth-century urbanization to shame. —Richard Beck, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024

The idea is that many of us have become divorced from nature by the forces of capitalism, industrialization, and urbanization. —Eve Andrews, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above