An urban beach, or urbeach, is defined as a space that includes an intellectually, artistically, or culturally sophisticated water feature that is also an aquatic play area, and is located within a culturally or artistically significant area of a city. In this sense, urbeaches differ from the splash pads and "spraygrounds" that are also found in city centers, in the sense that the urbeach aquatic play area is designed to appeal to people of all ages, not just to children. In this sense, the urbeach has taken on a social function similar to the village well, pump, or the social dynamics of the watercooler.

Typically urbeaches are important architectural landmarks that run 24 hours per day, for most or all of the year, not merely playgrounds that run only during the day. Many cities include more than one urbeach. For example, Toronto has four urbeaches: a rooftop urbeach on the roof of the Existential Technology Research Center (ETRC); Dundas Square; The Teluscape Hydraulophone facility and water maze; and, most recently, the HTO project.

Urbeaches may include sand, but many do not include sand, since urbeaches are often in civic spaces where large numbers of people pass through or where sand would otherwise cause problems. Urbeaches may be used for beach-like activities in a city space that would not usually allow for those activities. Urbeaches need not be built close to a natural body of water but almost always consist of some water feature that is suitable for aquatic play as at least one of its uses.

Differently from a waterpark where people go mainly for aquatic play, an urban beach is a multi-use space where people can engange in several activities such as sunbathing, relaxation, reading, aquatic play (to swim or to frolic in a water feature), walking, or jogging. An urban beach is a playful and relaxing place in the inner city where people can wear beach attire and splash around without being in violation of the laws and standards of appropriateness that otherwise may exist within the formal downtown setting.

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