Metaphorical and analogical thinking is a major aspect of how human intelligence tackles complex tasks in the discipline of urban design and planning. However, there is little research on this subject within urban design and planning, and the research approaches in closely related design disciplines lack a comprehensive view on its presence and roles on a disciplinary level. This paper argues that different metaphors/analogies play different roles to support different cognitive processes in urban design and planning, by constructing a framework to clarify the contexts, roles, and characteristics of M-A thinking. With case analyses, it further demonstrates that distinct characteristics related to the different roles can be explained with underlying cognitive patterns “organising” basic-form M-As, and that these patterns are inter-transformable. This framework could help lay the foundation of systematic research on this subject in urban design and planning, leading to addressing its wider implications.