urban renewal
noun
the rehabilitation of city areas by renovating or replacing dilapidated buildings with new housing, public buildings, parks, roadways, industrial areas, etc., often in accordance with comprehensive plans.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- urban iii,
- urban iv,
- urban legend,
- urban myth,
- urban planning,
- urban sociology,
- urban sprawl,
- urban v,
- urban vi,
- urban vii
Origin of urban renewal
First recorded in 1950–55
Also called urban redevelopment.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for urban renewal
The Haussmann urban-renewal project demolished old neighborhoods.
urban renewal
noun
the process of redeveloping dilapidated or no longer functional urban areas
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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urban renewal
Government-sponsored destruction of slum housing with a view to the construction of new housing.
Note
Large-scale urban renewal was engaged in during the 1960s and 1970s, after the departure of the rich and the middle class for America's suburbs had left many United States cities in decay and disrepair.
Programs designed to clear, rebuild, and redevelop urban slums. Critics contend that although they bulldoze slums, urban renewal programs often have led to their replacement by office buildings and by apartment houses for the well-to-do.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.