noun · academic
urbanization
UK/ˌɜːbənaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/US/ˌɜːrbənəˈzeɪʃən/ur·ban·i·ZA·tion
The process of people moving to cities and towns, causing cities to grow.
Examples
“Rapid urbanization has put pressure on housing and public services.”
“Policies must balance urbanization with environmental protection.”
“Urbanization changed the village into an industrial suburb.”
Band 8 sentence
“The unchecked urbanization of the past century has created both economic hubs and environmental challenges.”
Collocations
- rapid urbanization
- urbanization trends
- urbanization process
Word family
Common mistakes
Urbanization means the same as gentrification.→Urbanization refers to the growth of cities; gentrification is the change of neighbourhoods when richer people move in.
The urbanization of people to cities→The urbanization of the population
Say it for a higher band
5city growth→6urban growth→7+urbanization
Synonyms
urban growth
Easily confused
urban
“Urban areas usually have better access to public transport than rural ones.”
Related words
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In Hometown & Housing
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