An urban beach is an artificially-created environment in an urban setting which simulates a public beachfront, through the use of sand, beach umbrellas, and seating elements. Urban beaches are designed to surprise and delight city residents, workers, and visitors by inserting a beach atmosphere into an urban area that would otherwise be a typical cityscape.

A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells or coralline algae. Sediments settle in different densities and structures, depending on the local wave action and weather, creating different textures, colors and gradients or layers of material.