urbanization

American  

[ur-buh-nuh-zey-shuhn] / ˌɜr bə nəˈzeɪ ʃən /

especially British, urbanisation

noun

1. the act or fact of urbanizing, or taking on the characteristics of a city.

   Urbanization has led to more air pollution and increasing childhood asthma.

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urbanization Cultural  

1. The process by which cities grow or by which societies become more urban.

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Other Word Forms

• overurbanization noun

Etymology

Origin of urbanization

urbaniz(e) + -ation

Explanation

If a skyscraper is blocking the view of farmland you once had from your house window, urbanization is happening. Urbanization is a word for becoming more like a city. When populations of people grow, the population of a place may spill over from city to nearby areas. This is called urbanization. Maybe tall apartment buildings spring up on what had been the outskirts of town, bringing more people there to live and work. Urbanization can also apply to how people live. For example, if they stop driving their cars and instead rely on public transportation, as most people in cities do, that's urbanization.

Example Sentences

The two decades from 1995 to 2015 marked the greatest period of urbanization in China’s 5,000 year history.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

“It’s not just about the fires, but it’s about urbanization and how much our city needs to continue the work of doing testing in the water.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

Scientists note that Aedes mosquitoes are expanding their range due to warmer temperatures, global trade, and increased urbanization, allowing diseases once confined to the tropics to appear in new regions.

From Science Daily • Oct. 10, 2025

Climate change is already having a profound impact on cities, as global urbanization pushes more and more people to live in them.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2025

The development of writing in Zapotec society went hand-in-hand with growing urbanization.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann