noun
an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities
• Syn: ↑conurbation, ↑sprawl
• Hypernyms: ↑urban area, ↑populated area
• Hyponyms: ↑subtopia
* * *
noun [noncount]
: a situation in which large stores, groups of houses, etc., are built in an area around a city that formerly had few people living in it
efforts to stop/prevent urban sprawl
Useful english dictionary. 2012.