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urbanism

American  
[ur-buh-niz-uhm] / ˈɜr bəˌnɪz əm /

noun

  1. the way of life of people who live in a large city.

  2. urbanization.

  3. city planning.


urbanism British  
/ ˈɜːbəˌnɪzəm /

noun

    1. the character of city life

    2. the study of this

  1. a less common term for urbanization See urbanization

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of urbanism

1885–90; urban + -ism, modeled on French urbanisme

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Throughout the run of the project, select performances will be followed by conversations on urbanism and environmental change.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 4, 2026

He wrote or co-wrote at least 16 books, among them a brilliant monograph on George Howe and his “Paradise Planned: The Garden Suburb and the Modern City,” a massive study of American urbanism.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 28, 2025

"These factors promoted the coevolution of urbanism, systemic inequality and patron-client relationships in cities."

From Science Daily Nov. 26, 2025

These developments in urbanism and architecture were paralleled in art and literature.

From BBC Jan. 17, 2025

Feudalism co-existed and then supplanted urbanism and the big estates became so autonomous that they ignored the Byzantine court altogether.

From After the Rain : how the West lost the East by Vaknin, Samuel

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