Basics Landscape Architecture 01: Urban Design seeks to define and describe the role played by landscape architecture in urban design, an interdisciplinary practice that is concerned with defining the form of human settlements. It provides a brief history and definition of urban design and the roles of the various professions involved. Urban Design looks at the elements of urban form and the importance of contextual details, from the scale of the city and its region to the importance of materials. The text uses case studies to explore the philosophies and methodologies of urban design and to explain the importance of of urban design to landscape architecture and, in turn, the importance of landscape architecture to urban design.