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History vocabulary · Social History

Urbanization

Meaning in history, with examples

/ˌɜːbənaɪˈzeɪʃn/nounCommon term

In history, urbanization means: The growth of towns and cities, and the movement of a growing share of the population from the countryside into urban areas.

In Turkish: kentleşme, şehirleşme

How it is used

Social and economic historians measure urbanization with census data and link it to industrialization, migration, public health and housing. Phrases: rapid urbanization, the rate of urbanization, urban growth.

Example sentences

  1. The 1851 census revealed how far urbanization had gone in England and Wales.

  2. Rapid urbanization brought overcrowding and outbreaks of cholera.

Common collocations

  • rapid urbanization
  • the rate of urbanization
  • urban growth
  • urbanization and industrialization
  • industrializationThe process by which an economy shifts from mainly farming and handicrafts to large-scale manufacturing in factories using machines.
  • migrationThe movement of people from one place to another to live, either within a country or across borders, alone or in large groups.
  • censusAn official count of a population carried out by a state, usually recording details such as age, sex, household, occupation or property.
  • Industrial RevolutionThe shift from hand production to machines, factories and new energy sources such as coal and steam, which began in Britain in the late eighteenth century.

More terms: Social History

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