Urban planning is a technical and political process concerned with the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks.

[1] Urban planning deals with physical layout of human settlements.

[2] The primary concern is the public welfare,[

1][2] which includes considerations of efficiency, sanitation, protection and use of the environment,[1] as well as effects on social and economic activities.

[3] Urban planning is considered an interdisciplinary field that includes social science, architecture, human geography, politics, engineering and design sciences.

It is closely related to the field of urban design and some urban planners provide designs for streets, parks, buildings and other urban areas.[

4] Urban planning is also referred to as urban and regional planning, regional planning, town planning, city planning, rural planning, urban development or some combination in various areas worldwide.

Urban planning guides orderly development in urban, suburban and rural areas.[5] Although predominantly concerned with the planning of settlements and communities, urban planning is also responsible for the planning and development of water use and resources, rural and agricultural land, parks and conserving areas of natural environmental significance.

Practitioners of urban planning are concerned with research and analysis, strategic thinking, architecture, urban design, public consultation, policy recommendations, implementation and management.[2] Enforcement methodologies include governmental zoning, planning permissions, and building codes,[1] as well as private easements and restrictive covenants.[6]

Urban planners work with the cognate fields of architecture, landscape architecture, civil engineering, and public administration to achieve strategic, policy and sustainability goals.

Early urban planners were often members of these cognate fields. Today urban planning is a separate, independent professional discipline.

The discipline is the broader category that includes different sub-fields such as land-use planning, zoning, economic development, environmental planning, and transportation planning.[7]

An urban planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning for the purpose of optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure.

They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically analyzing land use compatibility as well as economic, environmental and social trends.

In developing any plan for a community (whether commercial, residential, agricultural, natural or recreational), urban planners must consider a wide array of issues including sustainability, existing and potential pollution, transport including potential congestion, crime, land values, economic development, social equity, zoning codes, and other legislation.

The importance of the urban planner is increasing in the 21st century, as modern society begins to face issues of increased population growth, climate change and unsustainable development.

An urban planner could be considered a green collar professional.[18]

Some researchers suggest that urban planners around the world work in different "planning cultures", adapted to their local cities and cultures.[

19] However, professionals have identified skills, abilities and basic knowledge sets that are common to urban planners across national and regional boundaries.[20][21][22]