Urban development patterns significantly influence extreme rainfall occurrences globally. This study reveals that compact urban development patterns lead to higher extreme rainfall frequencies in urban areas compared to rural surroundings, while dispersed development patterns result in less pronounced changes. Convection-permitting simulations show that compact cities create stronger urban-rural thermal contrasts and aerodynamic disturbances, directly affecting rainfall patterns. These findings highlight the importance of urban planning in mitigating climate-related hazards, especially in rapidly urbanizing regions. The study analyzed 1790 inland cities from 2003 to 2018, categorizing them into three groups based on urban development patterns: compact (Group II), dispersed (Group III), and a mix (Group I). Compact cities, characterized by high urban ratios and spatial aggregation, experienced more extreme rainfall within urban boundaries. Dispersed cities showed weaker urban-rural rainfall contrasts, increasing flood risks for both urban and rural areas. The study used numerical simulations to explore how different urban footprints affect rainfall, revealing that compact cities amplify rainfall accumulation and extreme events, while dispersed cities lead to more scattered disturbances. The research underscores the need for fine-scale characterization of urban land surfaces to understand interactions between urban canopy processes and the lower atmosphere. Current global climate models often lack this detail, leading to potential biases in urban areas that could affect rural regions through atmospheric flows. The study calls for improved urban parametrization schemes and high-resolution regional climate simulations to better predict climate impacts and support sustainable urban planning. The findings emphasize the importance of considering urban development patterns in climate resilience strategies, particularly for regions undergoing rapid urbanization.Urban development patterns significantly influence extreme rainfall occurrences globally. This study reveals that compact urban development patterns lead to higher extreme rainfall frequencies in urban areas compared to rural surroundings, while dispersed development patterns result in less pronounced changes. Convection-permitting simulations show that compact cities create stronger urban-rural thermal contrasts and aerodynamic disturbances, directly affecting rainfall patterns. These findings highlight the importance of urban planning in mitigating climate-related hazards, especially in rapidly urbanizing regions. The study analyzed 1790 inland cities from 2003 to 2018, categorizing them into three groups based on urban development patterns: compact (Group II), dispersed (Group III), and a mix (Group I). Compact cities, characterized by high urban ratios and spatial aggregation, experienced more extreme rainfall within urban boundaries. Dispersed cities showed weaker urban-rural rainfall contrasts, increasing flood risks for both urban and rural areas. The study used numerical simulations to explore how different urban footprints affect rainfall, revealing that compact cities amplify rainfall accumulation and extreme events, while dispersed cities lead to more scattered disturbances. The research underscores the need for fine-scale characterization of urban land surfaces to understand interactions between urban canopy processes and the lower atmosphere. Current global climate models often lack this detail, leading to potential biases in urban areas that could affect rural regions through atmospheric flows. The study calls for improved urban parametrization schemes and high-resolution regional climate simulations to better predict climate impacts and support sustainable urban planning. The findings emphasize the importance of considering urban development patterns in climate resilience strategies, particularly for regions undergoing rapid urbanization.