verb · neutral
urbanize
UK/ˈɜːbənaɪz/US/ˈɜːrbənaɪz/UR·ban·ize
to make an area into a town or city, or to move people into towns and cities
Examples
“As countries develop, they tend to urbanize rapidly.”
“Urbanizing rural areas can put pressure on housing and services.”
“Policies that urbanize regions must consider infrastructure needs.”
Band 8 sentence
“Rapid urbanization has strained municipal services, forcing planners to rethink housing and transport strategies.”
Collocations
- urbanize rural areas
- rapidly urbanize
- urbanize the countryside
Word family
Common mistakes
The countryside urbanize faster than before.→The countryside is urbanizing faster than before.
They urbanize many villages last decade.→They urbanized many villages last decade.
Say it for a higher band
5move to cities→6grow into cities→7+urbanize
Synonyms
grow cities
Easily confused
industrialize
“The government plans to industrialize the region by building factories and improving transport links.”
Related words
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In -ize
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