1640s, "to make more civil;" 1884 "to make into a city," from urban + -ize; in the latter sense from French urbaniser (1873). Related: Urbanized; urbanizing.
The area was urbanized after many people moved in
Birds are being urbanized by people in outdoor cafes feeding them
urbanisation
urbanism
urbanite
urbanity
urbanization
urbanize
urceolate
urchin
Urdu
-ure
ure