URBED

What URBED does

URBED (Urbanism, Environment and Design) Ltd was a Manchester-based worker cooperative founded in 2006, growing out of the original URBED (Urban and Economic Development) Ltd established by Dr Nicholas Falk in 1976. Operating with 1-10 employees, the firm functioned as a multi-disciplinary design and research consultancy delivering urban design, masterplanning, sustainable retrofit, and community-led design services. Its team combined urban designers, planners, architects, landscape architects, geographers, and sustainability experts. Clients were predominantly UK public sector bodies and housing associations, including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Believe Housing, Poplar HARCA, and the Place Alliance.

The firm's core methodology centred on participatory consultation, most notably its proprietary "Design for Change" approach that combined "diagnosis" and "dreaming" workshops to capture community aspirations for regeneration projects such as the Brandon Estate masterplan in County Durham. Notable deliverables included authorship of the National Model Design Code (NMDC) for the UK government, the BEIS-funded People Powered Retrofit programme (in partnership with Carbon Coop), the Housing Design Audit for England with Place Alliance, and community-built projects such as Squash Liverpool and the Homebaked Community Land Trust. URBED also operated URBED+, a research lab partnership with Manchester School of Architecture for PhD scholarships and joint MArch teaching, and published Urban Scrawl, an occasional journal of urbanism.

URBED earned revenue through project-based professional service fees, primarily won via public sector tendering and direct commissions from housing associations and community organisations. It generated no external funding rounds, raised no equity, and operated without disclosed revenue. URBED Ltd ceased trading at the end of 2022, citing completion of jobs and a difficult post-COVID public sector tendering environment; its mission has since been carried forward by the separate not-for-profit URBED Trust, while key personnel dispersed to People Powered Retrofit, BDP, and the Quality of Life Foundation.

Name

URBED

Legal name

URBED (Urbanism, Environment and Design) Ltd

Website

https://urbed.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

URBED was a Manchester-based worker cooperative offering urban design, masterplanning, and sustainable retrofit consultancy to UK government bodies, housing associations, and community organisations; the firm closed at the end of 2022 with its mission continuing through the URBED Trust.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Design Consultancy

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Urban design consulting
• Masterplanning services
• Sustainable retrofit
• Community engagement
• Urban regeneration

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

URBED provided multi-disciplinary urban design, masterplanning, planning, architecture, landscape architecture, sustainability, and community-led engagement consultancy services. Core service lines included regeneration strategy, visioning, masterplanning, participatory community consultation using the proprietary Design for Change methodology, sustainable retrofit advisory, low carbon action planning, housing design audits, and design code authorship.

Product overview

URBED (Urbanism, Environment and Design) Ltd was an employee-owned cooperative urban design practice based in Manchester, UK. The company offered a range of consultancy services including urban design, masterplanning, community engagement, sustainability consulting, and domestic retrofit advisory. Their portfolio included specific projects such as the People Powered Retrofit initiative (in partnership with Carbon Coop), the Brandon masterplanning project, Poplar Green Futures Low Carbon Action Plan, and community buildings like Squash Liverpool and Homebaked Community Land Trust. They also maintained the Urban Scrawl publication for sharing urbanism ideas. URBED operated a research arm called URBED+ in partnership with Manchester School of Architecture. The company closed at the end of 2022, with its mission continuing through the separate URBED Trust organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urban Design and Masterplanning Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Awarded Wolfson Economics Prize 2014 with submission on garden cities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Carbon CoopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration with Carbon Coop on domestic energy retrofit, including the People Powered Retrofit project. URBED and Carbon Coop worked together on green skills training and householder-led retrofit approaches. Marianne Heaslip from URBED and Jonathan Atkinson from Carbon Coop jointly received the Ashden Award at COP26.
• Poplar HARCAmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerURBED worked as research and design consultants with Poplar HARCA, Shared Futures CIC and ADE Regeneration to develop a Low Carbon Action Plan for Poplar in partnership with residents and local community stakeholders.
• Manchester School of ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerURBED+ partnership with Manchester School of Architecture for research, advocacy and education. Collaboration on PhD scholarships for retrofit research and joint MArch Atelier.
• Arc4minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in People Powered Retrofit BEIS-funded project, providing research and development support for domestic energy efficiency works.
• Cumbria Action for SustainabilityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in People Powered Retrofit project, contributing to development of local supply chains for retrofit across Greater Manchester.
• Electricity North WestminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in People Powered Retrofit project, supporting the development of retrofit works and energy efficiency services.
• Ecology Building SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in People Powered Retrofit project, providing financial expertise for retrofit service development.
• Believe HousingmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerURBED commissioned by Believe Housing to carry out community workshops and consultations for Brandon estate regeneration, using design for change methodology.
• Homebaked CLTmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerURBED supported Homebaked Community Land Trust in developing plans for refurbishing terraced houses next to Homebaked Bakery in Liverpool, using participatory design processes.
• Squash LiverpoolmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerURBED designed the Squash food hub on Windsor Street in Liverpool 8, working with community design team. Building achieved ASBP Awards shortlisting for sustainable construction.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• BDP (Building Design Partnership): Large UK multi-disciplinary design practice covering architecture, urban design, landscape and sustainability. Directly comparable as a multi-disciplinary urban design and masterplanning firm; multiple URBED team members transitioned to BDP after URBED's closure, indicating overlapping capability and cultural fit.
• Allies and Morrison: Major London-based architecture and urban design practice with a strong portfolio of masterplans and design code work for UK local authorities. Comparable to URBED as an architect-led urban design practice engaging with planning policy and regeneration.

Direct peers

• JTP (John Thompson & Partners): UK masterplanning and urban design practice with strong track record in large-scale residential and community-led placemaking. Closely comparable to URBED in combining masterplanning, community engagement, and housing-focused urban design for public sector clients.
• Karakusevic Carson Architects: London-based practice specialising in social housing, estate regeneration, and public sector residential masterplanning. Directly comparable to URBED's housing association work (e.g. Believe Housing's Brandon Estate) and community engagement on regeneration.
• Haworth Tompkins: UK practice with a strong portfolio in community-focused architecture, housing, and cultural buildings. Comparable in its emphasis on participatory design, sustainable retrofit, and working with community organisations and local authorities.
• Pollard Thomas Edwards (PTE): London practice with deep expertise in social housing, estate renewal, and community architecture. Directly comparable to URBED's regeneration, housing association, and community engagement work, particularly in the London market where URBED also operated.
• Levitt Bernstein: UK architecture and urban design practice with a strong social housing, estate regeneration, and public realm focus. Comparable in combining housing design, masterplanning, and community engagement for housing associations and local authorities.
• Metropolitan Workshop: UK practice focused on urbanism, masterplanning, and design coding. Closely comparable to URBED in scale, multi-disciplinary urban design focus, and engagement with national design policy (including design code work).
• Proctor & Matthews: UK architecture and urban design practice known for masterplanning, landscape-led design, and housing developments. Comparable to URBED in combining landscape, urban design, and masterplanning expertise for residential and community-focused projects.
• muf architecture/art: London-based practice specialising in public realm, community engagement, and participatory design for local authorities and housing providers. Highly comparable to URBED's Design for Change methodology and its emphasis on co-design with residents and community organisations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/URBEDmcr
• Instagraminstagram.com/urbed_mcr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urbed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about URBED