verb

urbanize

urbanise

They plan to urbanize the rural area.

They plan to urbanise the rural area.

The region has urbanized rapidly.

The region has urbanised rapidly.

((sth.)) to make an area more like a city They plan to urbanise the rural area.

Synonyms: citify, metropolitanize; Antonyms: ruralize

From Latin 'urbanus' (of a city), from 'urbs' (city). The '-ize' suffix means 'to make'.

Think of 'urban' (related to a city) + '-ize' (to make). It literally means 'to make into a city'.

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