Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

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.


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


Other Word Forms

  • overurbanization noun

Etymology

Origin of urbanization

urbaniz(e) + -ation

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.

Earlier enclosures had primed the English for urbanization by concentrating land ownership.

From The Wall Street Journal

We now have a much clearer picture of how humanity’s successes—population growth, food production, urbanization, globalization—have stoked pathogen evolution.

From The Wall Street Journal

The final factor is increased demand owing to data centers, increased urbanization, resurgent manufacturing and electrification of societal segments.

From The Wall Street Journal

Their work applies population ecology theory to quantify the forces that shaped urbanization across the Classic Maya Lowlands.

From Science Daily

As America moved to mechanized textile mills, telegraphs and urbanization, that created demand for factory workers, machinists and communications clerks.

From The Wall Street Journal