Urbanism
How more cities can unlock the hidden potential of urban swimming – the joyful perk hiding in plain sight
Swimming, floating or simply messing about in open-air bodies of water is good for us. Cities can free their rivers, ponds and lakes to make it possible. Here’s how.
Latest in Monocle Radio
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Parc de Belloch: the home of Catalonian design
Show-stopping design firm Santa & Cole takes inspiration from the Catalonian countryside and being just far away enough from bustling Barcelona.
Vital signs
From traditional calligraphy to rare gold-leaf techniques, hand-worked lettering is back in demand. Monocle Films meets three sign painters whose eye-catching signs lend character to cities – and help businesses stand out.
Healthy cities: vim and vigour
Across the world governments and developers are waking up to the fact that healthier cities are happier ones. We touch down in three very different destinations to admire some of the best urban design…
Property Prospectus: Uzupis
Monocle Films heads to Vilnius to explore Uzupis. This creative and quirky corner of the Lithuanian capital is more than just a neighbourhood – it’s a mini-state.
Baťa: if the shoe fits
The Czech town of Zlín was transformed by a visionary shoemaker who wanted to house his workers in a garden city. We put our best foot forward to explore his functionalist masterpiece.
Porto Revival
Monocle films visits Porto to discover how one city leader is determined to stop gentrification destroying his city.
Urban growth: Solitair tree nursery
Cities are often seen as the flipside of nature: synthetic, sleek and sometimes impersonal. For places that pine after being greener, the Solitair tree nursery provides a blueprint. Monocle travelled to the nursery in…
Most liveable city: Tokyo
Marking the biggest shake-up in the survey’s nine-year history, Monocle’s 2015 Quality of Life survey awards Tokyo the number one city to call home. Rising from second place in 2014, the Japanese capital’s defining…
Medellín Revival
Smart new architecture and public transport infrastructure have turned Medellín into a success story. Monocle's video journalist Gabriel Leigh meets the people charting its course.
