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

This older bottleneck coincided with Shanghai’s urbanization. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 9 June 2026

The precise definition of urbanization has shifted over the centuries. —Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026

But even without this year’s drought, people have been raising the alarm for decades on how growth and urbanization have contributed to lowering water levels. —Idaho Statesman, 4 June 2026

The deeper issue is that biological threats increasingly overlap with national security, migration, urbanization, environmental degradation, and irregular conflict. —Steve Brozak, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026

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