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

More: Six Central Texas freshwater mussels deemed endangered due to climate change, urbanization Which states have hammerhead populations? —Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025

Emanuel takes us back to the beginning of Copenhagen’s modern urbanization. —Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 1 July 2025

Limited cranial shifts in city-dwelling rodents after a century of urbanization. —Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025

To search for the reason behind these skull changes, the team pored over historical records on temperature and levels of urbanization around the Chicagoland area. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 26 June 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