Urbanism
Page 95
Finnish beginning
Helsinki, the World Design Capital for 2012, is having a design renaissance. Officials, academics and designers are inspired to prove it isn’t stuck in the shade of its mid-century heritage.
Gehl force
Celebrated Danish architect Jan Gehl believes focusing city infrastructure on inhabitants' needs, not cars and concrete, improves quality of life. He advocates for a people-first approach to urban planning worldwide.
A man of the people
Minneapolis mayor RT Rybak has a unique brand of governing. He markets the city’s tap water, pushes food initiatives and believes in civic duty. Is this the model for America’s urban renaissance?
Europe
Copenhagen saddles up for the world's biggest urban cycling contest, Russia's "Silicon Valley" gets to live by its own rules, and Istanbul, the call to prayer becomes easier to the ear.
Go up market
Monocle meets the two visionaries who have shown that the fortunes of an entire neighbourhood can be transformed simply by setting up a weekly market selling local produce.
Asia
Portable farms from Japan, cash for babies in Taiwan, China and South Korea finally find something they can both agree on.
Civic slickers
The right mayor can reinvent and rejuvenate a city by boosting infrastructure, speeding integration and fostering the arts. For our cities special, we profile 10 of the freshest movers and shakers in urban politics.
Oceania
Auckland has big ideas for New Zealand's first "Super City," Melbourne re-stocks its tree population and the Gold Coast's bikini-clad meter maids face extinction.
Hula hopes
Honolulu, our top-ranking US city for the third year running, wants to shed its honeymoon hotspot image. The film industry, renewable energy and agriculture are helping transform it into a new Pacific power.
Expo 35: Taipei
The right mixture of progress and chaos makes Taiwan's capital a fun place to live. It has the world's most advanced cashless payment system alongside sprawling, hectic night markets.
