Urban Design Partners
Urban Design Partners is a Charlotte-based integrated civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm serving real estate developers, homebuilders, architects, and government entities on land development and rezoning projects across the Carolinas.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersCharlotte, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Urban Design Partners does
Urban Design Partners is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based professional services firm founded in March 2005 by two civil engineers. It provides an integrated offering across four core disciplines — civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and urban design — plus rezoning and land entitlement services. The firm serves a B2B client base of real estate developers, commercial property developers, architects, homebuilders, and government entities, with projects spanning residential subdivisions, mixed-use districts, commercial sites, civic/transportation infrastructure (notably on-call work for Charlotte Douglas International Airport), and affordable housing.
The firm operates as an integrated multidisciplinary practice rather than a modular platform, with a single coordinated team handling projects from conceptual master planning through rezoning and entitlement, civil engineering design, landscape architecture, and construction documentation. Its economics are project-based professional services fees, scoped per engagement, with no disclosed pricing or subscription component. Go-to-market is direct sales-led through client relationships, referrals, and proposal-driven engagement, supported by a regional marketing presence across the Charlotte and Raleigh metros and the Carolinas more broadly.
Urban Design Partners has expanded from a single Charlotte office (relocated to Wesley Heights at the end of 2020) to a multi-office Carolina footprint with locations in Charlotte (headquarters), Raleigh (Triangle market, established 2019), and Rock Hill, SC. Ownership remains with founding and managing partners (Brian Smith, Paul Pennell, Brian Richards as Principal, plus Salman Moazzam leading Triangle operations), with no external investors, M&A activity, or funding rounds in evidence. The firm claims 50+ design professionals and approvals across 55+ jurisdictions in the Carolinas.
Urban Design Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Urban Design Partners
- Legal name
- Urban Design Partners
- Website
- https://urbandesignpartners.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Urban Design Partners is a Charlotte-based integrated civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm serving real estate developers, homebuilders, architects, and government entities on land development and rezoning projects across the Carolinas.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Urban Design Partners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civil Engineering & Landscape Architecture Services
- NAICS
- Landscape Architectural Services (541320), Architectural Services (54131)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD), Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD), Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)
Keywords
Where Urban Design Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlotte
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Urban Design Partners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Professional Services - Civil Engineering: Project-based civil engineering services for land development including site design, grading, drainage, utility design, and construction documentation for residential, commercial, mixed-use, and industrial projects.
- Professional Services - Landscape Architecture: Landscape architecture services including site planning, planting design, amenity design, and construction documentation for various development projects.
- Professional Services - Planning and Entitlements: Rezoning and land entitlement services including community engagement, presentation to planning commissions, and coordination with municipal authorities.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Urban Design Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Urban Design Partners is a professional services firm that delivers integrated landscape architecture, civil engineering, planning, urban design, and rezoning/entitlement services for land development projects. The firm combines multidisciplinary expertise across planners, landscape architects, civil engineers, project managers, and stormwater specialists to serve real estate developers, homebuilders, architects, and government entities across the Carolinas.
Product overview
Urban Design Partners is a professional services firm offering an integrated suite of landscape architecture, civil engineering, planning, urban design, and rezoning/entitlement services. The company operates as a unified service offering rather than a platform-with-modules architecture, combining multidisciplinary expertise (planners, landscape architects, civil engineers, project managers, and stormwater experts) to deliver projects from conceptual vision through construction completion. Their core differentiator is an integrated design approach that bridges planning, engineering, and landscape architecture disciplines.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Landscape Architecture
- Civil Engineering
- Planning
- Urban Design
- Rezoning & Entitlements
Companies that use Urban Design Partners
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Urban Design Partners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Urban Design Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Urban Design Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- LandDesign: Charlotte-headquartered multidisciplinary design firm offering civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and urban design for land development. Closest direct peer — same integrated service model, same Carolinas base, similar client mix of developers and homebuilders.
- McAdams: North Carolina-based civil engineering, planning, and land development firm serving developers, municipalities, and homebuilders across the Southeast. Highly comparable client base and project types (subdivisions, mixed-use, municipal).
- WithersRavenel: North Carolina-headquartered engineering and consulting firm with planning, civil engineering, and surveying practices serving developers and municipalities. Direct regional peer with similar Carolinas footprint and developer client base.
- Stewart Engineering: Raleigh-based engineering, planning, and geomatics firm serving commercial, residential, and institutional clients across the Carolinas. Comparable Triangle-area peer competing for the same rezoning, civil, and planning engagements.
- SEPI Engineering & Construction: North Carolina-based civil engineering and surveying firm with a strong transportation and land development practice. Comparable scope on the civil engineering side and overlapping Carolinas developer client base.
- Bohler Engineering: National land development consulting firm specializing in civil engineering, planning, landscape architecture, and surveying for commercial, residential, and mixed-use developers. Direct competitor for the same type of entitlement and site design work.
- Design Workshop: Landscape architecture and urban design firm focused on creating meaningful places through planning, design, and community engagement. Comparable on the landscape architecture and urban design service lines and shared emphasis on community-focused development.
Broad incumbents
- Kimley-Horn: Top-tier national planning and design consulting firm offering civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and environmental services. Competes with UDP on larger Carolinas land development and master-planning RFPs from a much broader national platform.
- Stantec: Global design and engineering firm with strong land development, planning, and landscape architecture practices. Overlaps with UDP on mixed-use and master-planned community engagements across the Carolinas as part of a much broader portfolio.
- LJA Engineering: Mid-sized national engineering and planning firm with significant Carolinas and Southeast presence serving land developers and homebuilders. Competes on similar residential subdivision and mixed-use entitlements.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Urban Design Partners social profiles
Digital presenceUrban Design Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Urban Design Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Urban Design Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Urban Design Partners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Urban Design Partners
What does Urban Design Partners do?
Urban Design Partners is a professional services firm that delivers integrated landscape architecture, civil engineering, planning, urban design, and rezoning/entitlement services for land development projects. The firm combines multidisciplinary expertise across planners, landscape architects, civil engineers, project managers, and stormwater specialists to serve real estate developers, homebuilders, architects, and government entities across the Carolinas.
Is Urban Design Partners a public or private company?
Urban Design Partners is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Urban Design Partners founded?
Urban Design Partners was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Urban Design Partners based?
Urban Design Partners is headquartered in Charlotte, United States, in the North America region.
How does Urban Design Partners make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Professional Services - Civil Engineering is the primary driver. The others are professional Services - Landscape Architecture and professional Services - Planning and Entitlements.
Who are Urban Design Partners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are LandDesign, McAdams, WithersRavenel, Stewart Engineering, SEPI Engineering & Construction, Bohler Engineering and Design Workshop. Broad incumbents are Kimley-Horn, Stantec and LJA Engineering.
Does Urban Design Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Urban Design Partners.
What industry is Urban Design Partners in?
Urban Design Partners's product category is Civil Engineering & Landscape Architecture Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAC, Landscape Architecture & Site Design, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAD, Urban Planning & Master Planning. Its NAICS code is 541320.