urban renewal

American  

noun

1. 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.

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urban renewal British  

noun

1. the process of redeveloping dilapidated or no longer functional urban areas

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urban renewal ¹ Cultural  

1. Government-sponsored destruction of slum housing with a view to the construction of new housing.

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urban renewal ² Cultural  

1. 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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of urban renewal

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Head of Lagos's urban renewal office Gbolahan Oki did not respond to AFP requests for comment but told journalists in December that residents had been warned.

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

When urban renewal bulldozed those communities, the benefits vanished.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

New Haven was a good place to study urban history: Its midcentury leaders strived to make it a “model city,” and deployed more per capita urban renewal money than in any city in the country.

From Slate • Sep. 21, 2025

All that began to unravel in the 1960s when urban renewal projects brought freeway construction that severed Chinatown from the rest of the city and forced mass displacement of residents.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2024

Alongside the neat gray wharf sheds that lined the river and canal across the railroad tracks, Lew Pants huddled, a silent and smoky plea for urban renewal.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole