suburbanization

Cultural  

1. The establishment of residential communities on the outskirts of a city. In the United States, many suburbs were created after World War II, during a period of tremendous growth in population and industry. Suburban dwellers typically work in the cities but raise their families in a less-congested, safer, and more relaxed atmosphere. Especially in the United States, suburbanization often is associated with the sprawl of population.

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Example Sentences

He also signals, with chapters on highway-building, housing and incipient suburbanization, new forces that would radically reshape both the cityscape and patterns of living.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

“Robert Moses will be remembered as a key actor in the rise of New York, not its fall,” wrote Jackson, the now-retired Columbia University historian and author of suburbanization history Crabgrass Frontier.

From Slate • Sep. 16, 2024

The American middle class was created through white suburbanization and a massive expansion in the economy.

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2023

“We’ve heard about basically the suburbanization of poverty, ‘Drive until you qualify.’

From Seattle Times • Mar. 6, 2023

Thus the process of urbanization has been modified by one of suburbanization.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7 "Horticulture" to "Hudson Bay" by Various