Urban area to west and north (4)
I believe the answer is:
town
'urban area' is the definition.
(town is a kind of urban area)
'to west and north' is the wordplay.
'west' becomes 'w' ('W' can be a synonym of 'west').
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'north' becomes 'n' ('N' can be a synonym of 'north').
'to'+'w'+'n'='TOWN'
(Other definitions for town that I've seen before include "Conurbation" , "Community group" , "Won't be about population centre" , "Small urban development" , "It lies between village and city" .)