If someone strikes gold, or oil, it doesn't take long to turn a village into a city. The war with the Black Ring turned the source into a high value location (after the goblin heart discovery got the healing potions going again), and the magic unleashed during the war reshaped some of the surrounding geography. Even during Beyond Divinity, 20 years after Divine Divinity, a swamp was encroaching on the farmlands near Aleroth.
