Urbanite has two distinct meanings:
- In demographic or cultural contexts "urbanite" refers to a city-dweller.
- In landscaping and sustainable architecture "urbanite" refers to repurposed chunks of concrete.
Repurposed concrete
Urbanite is created through the breaking up of concrete by means of jack hammer or sledge hammer. Urbanite pieces retrieved from broken up pavement are the most popular because they are flat, and have one or two relatively smooth faces. They are commonly used as pavers or stacked to form borders for raised garden beds. Urbanite pieces appeal to those aesthetic tastes that prefer their irregular, rough shapes and sizes over the straight lines created by commercially produced bricks or blocks. Urbanite can be found at any worksite where concrete is being broken up, and is usually given away for free to anyone who is able to it haul away.