To reverse urbanization; to convert urban areas back to rural or less developed forms, or to remove urban characteristics from a place.
From 'de-' (reversing) + 'urbanize' (from Latin 'urbanus' meaning 'of the city'). This word emerged in the 20th century as urban planners and sociologists needed vocabulary to discuss reversing city development.
As climate change and remote work reshape where people live, 'deurbanize' is becoming less theoretical and more real—some cities are literally shrinking as populations move out, a reversal urban planners never expected to plan for.
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