Here in Toronto, talk of Manhattanization has accompanied the high-rises and construction cranes over the last decade. Everyone from Councillor Josh Matlow to former Toronto Star architecture critic Christopher Hume has weighed in on the catch-all portmanteau used to describe the city's vertical growth. While that term was the subject of a previous 'Explainer,' SkyriseCities also offers us a broader look at patterns of urban growth and the terms that accompany them. By now, we're familiar with Manhattanization and Brusselization, but how do we talk about sprawl? That's where Californication comes in (sorry David Duchovny fans, not that one). SkyriseCities' latest Explainer offers another look at an urban term:

Expressways and sprawl in Los Angeles, image via Google Maps

Like Manhattanization and Brusselization, Californication is a pejorative word that has similar negative connotations in its usage. A portmanteau of California and fornication, the term found favour among government officials and residents of several states in the Western U.S., who utilized the neologism to decry and help prevent the purported phenomena of uncontrolled and haphazard development in California.