collocation · neutral
urban sprawl
UK/ˈɜːbən sprɔːl/US/ˈɜːrbən sprɔːl/UR·ban SPAWL
the uncontrolled spreading of a city and its suburbs over rural land.
Examples
“Urban sprawl has consumed large areas of farmland around the city.”
“Policies to promote higher-density housing can reduce urban sprawl.”
“Critics say urban sprawl increases car dependency and infrastructure costs.”
Band 8 sentence
“To tackle urban sprawl, city planners must integrate land-use policies with transport and housing strategies rather than relying on ad hoc solutions.”
Collocations
- control urban sprawl
- combat urban sprawl
Word family
Common mistakes
an urban sprawls→urban sprawl
We try to stop the urbanization.→We try to curb urban sprawl.
Say it for a higher band
5city expansion→6suburban expansion→7+urban sprawl
Synonyms
suburban expansion
Easily confused
urbanization
“Planners often propose public transport improvements to counter urban sprawl.”
Related words
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In Environment & Climate
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