The Urbanist | Monocle

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The Urbanist

With an influential audience of city mayors, urban planners and architects, this is Monocle’s guide to making better cities, be it new technology, state-of-the-art subways or compact apartments. Nominee in the Smartest Podcast category of the 2019 British Podcast awards.

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Latest episode

Destinations for 2025:

We visit two destinations that should factor into your 2025 travel plans. In Portugal we assess the hospitality sector after a record year in visitor numbers, then we tune in to the sounds of Tokyo to hear what sonic attractions await you in the Japanese capital.

Latest episodes

EpisodeDateDescriptionDownloadPlay
6919 Jan 2025
28 min

Destinations for 2025 

We visit two destinations that should factor into your 2025 travel plans. In Portugal we assess the hospitality sector after a record year in visitor numbers, then we tune in to the sounds of Tokyo to hear what sonic attractions await you in the Japanese capital.

DownloadPlay
6 Jan 2025
7 min

Tall Stories 440: Motel Plitvice, Zagreb 

Guy de Launey reviews an icon of Yugoslav architecture in a motorway service station just outside Zagreb.

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6902 Jan 2025
28 min

The best of ‘Tall Stories’ in 2024 

Monocle’s editor in chief, Andrew Tuck, rounds up his favourite episodes of ‘Tall Stories’ from 2024.

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68926 Dec 2024
30 min

The best of 2024 

Monocle’s editor-in-chief Andrew Tuck recalls some of his favourite interviews and reports from the year on ‘The Urbanist’.

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68819 Dec 2024
27 min

A very Urbanist Christmas 

Our holiday special brings you a collection of yuletide traditions from cities around the world. Then, we roll out another festive round of ‘The Urbanist’ quiz and give you the perfect gift idea for the urbanist in your life.

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16 Dec 2024
8 min

Tall Stories 439: Deer Valley Resort, Utah 

Jessica Bridger straps on her skis and takes us to a grand American resort whose wild, man-made landscape stuns visitors.

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68712 Dec 2024
29 min

Swimmable cities, Battersea Power Station and indigenous retail 

Matt Sykes, co-founder and convenor of Swimmable Cities, describes how our urban centres can band together to promote more swimmable urban waterways. Then Sebastien Ricard from Wilkinsoneyre unpacks the transformation of the Battersea Power Station and Mandy Sinclair visits Aaniin – Canada’s first fully indigenous-owned department store.

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9 Dec 2024
5 min

Tall Stories 438: Cusco’s duality 

Elna Schutz explores how antiquity and modernity coexist in the city of Cusco, perched high in the Andes.

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6865 Dec 2024
28 min

How municipal architects shape our cities 

From the perspectives of towns, cities and countries, we look at the role of the municipal architect today to see how this centralised advisor can help to cut red tape, mould an identity and connect stakeholders for better urban-design choices.

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2 Dec 2024
6 min

Tall Stories 437: Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation, New York 

Paul Logothetis takes us to an intriguing new building that is just as awe inspiring as the exhibits housed within.

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68528 Nov 2024
29 min

‘The Land is Full’, plus urbanism for young and old 

We speak to Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, whose new monograph, ‘The Land is Full’, explains why all land comes with deep history and cultural ties. Then we inspire young urbanists with the author of an architecturally themed colouring book and assess how Singapore will combat loneliness in its rapidly ageing population.

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25 Nov 2024
9 min

Tall Stories 436: Tallinna Linnahall 

David Plaisant visits a Soviet-era concert hall that has been disused for the best part of 15 years and is loved and loathed by the city’s residents in equal measure.

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68421 Nov 2024
29 min

The positives of public parks, Kitchener’s glockenspiel and the art of letter carving 

We assess all the benefits that public green space brings to a city, visit one of the most German cities in Canada to see how the town glockenspiel brings residents together and investigate the ancient art of letter carving.

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18 Nov 2024
4 min

Tall Stories 435: Streetcars in El Paso 

Gregory Scruggs hops aboard a street car in El Paso to find out how the revival of this transportation option has struck a chord with the locals.

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68314 Nov 2024
30 min

Protecting London’s past 

We explore some iconic parts of London’s past through ‘London Lost Interiors’, a book revealing the great indoors of the UK capital. Plus: a cylindrical example of brutalist architecture, Space House, which has been preserved for future generations.

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