Initially the operatives work near urban area (4)
I believe the answer is:
town
'urban area' is the definition.
(town is a kind of urban area)
'initially the operatives work near' is the wordplay.
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letters of 'the operatives work near' is 'TOWN'.
(Other definitions for town that I've seen before include "Nelson, for example" , "London" , "Large urban area" , "SECOND PART OF 17" , "See 9" .)