The above definition from Wikipedia leaves a lot of room for interpretation. And that is the reality; urban design is perceived differently by different people and in different parts of the world. In its most narrow understanding, it involves the shaping of furniture in public space. In its most broad interpretation it is the activity of planning, designing and guiding the growth, regeneration and expansion of neighborhoods, cities and regions.

Urban Progress promotes urban design in its broader definition. The firm sees urban design as the professional activity that creates solutions for the formation, regeneration and expansion of neighborhoods, cities and regions. This interpretation puts urban design at the crossroads of planning, architecture and landscape design. 

Urban Progress believes that the key challenge for urban designers is to interpret complex physical, social and economic conditions of a place and shape proposals for its development on that basis. In mathematical terms, urban design is an equation with many variables. Design is crucial for 'urban progress' because it involves the invention of ‘possible futures’ for city blocks, neighborhoods or parts of a city.