19 November 2015
Episode 214
30 minutes
Photo: F Mira
Would a city planned or managed by a woman look different to any other? And who are the female urban leaders and architects making a difference in the community? This week is not about adapting the city for women but looking at those women who are changing our cities for the better, from Lisbon to Niterói and Vancouver. Plus: we bring you part three of our series on the battle for New York’s public space.
19 November 2015
Share episode
DownloadChapter 1
7 minutes
Photo: Bex Walton
15
15
/
Defending public space and preserving community life should be one of the top priorities for any city planner but it is not always an easy task. In fact, over the past two years it has become the main challenge for non-profit organisation Fundo Arquitectura Social, headed by two architects and a sociologist. They work with Lisbon’s most touristy neighbourhood, Bairro do Castelo, home to the famous São Jorge Castle.
7 minutes
Share chapter 1

Chapter 2
5 minutes
Photo: Gus Valentim
15
15
/
The city of Niterói often lives in the shadow of Rio de Janeiro. It is home to pristine beaches and stunning views, and houses the overflowing population of Rio de Janeiro city. Seen as a more economically viable option for many of Rio’s workers, the city’s population swelled 130 per cent between 1970 and 2010. We meet Verena Andreatta, who’s behind the master plan for the city.
5 minutes
Share chapter 2

Chapter 3
6 minutes
Photo: Alex Costin
15
15
/
Do cities work better for men than women? And do female planners bring a different mindset to design? North Vancouver planner Carla Guerrera – just named one of the world’s best young urban planners by New York’s Urban Land Institute – thinks it’s worth exploring.
6 minutes
Share chapter 3

Chapter 4
5 minutes
Photo: Shinya Suzuki
15
15
/
Today we look at how a natural disaster led to one of New York’s most successful public architecture projects. After the destruction of the boardwalks in Rockaway Beach by Superstorm Sandy, Sage and Coombe Architects were tasked with getting the beaches back up and running. We look at its success.
5 minutes
Share chapter 4

Want more radio episodes like these in your inbox?
Sign up to Monocle’s email newsletters to stay on top of news and opinion, plus the latest from the magazine, radio, film and shop.
The Urbanist - latest episodes
Tall Stories 252: Cinemateca, Montevideo
We visit the new home for the national film archive of Uruguay.
Urban lighting
We might not think about it very often but high-quality urban lighting is a determining factor in how we experience our cities. In this episode we look at the history of light in urban environments, how they can make places…
Tall Stories 251: Precollinear Park, Turin
We stop by a linear park constructed along a stretch of unused tram lines, conceived by the Torino Stratosferica collective.
Building back equally
We rewrite that most recent of urbanist battle cries and look at how to build back equally.
Tall Stories 250: UN headquarters, New York
Christopher Cermak charts his journey from model UN to reporting on the real thing and explains what the organisation’s New York HQ means to the city.
The future of US transportation
With a new administration in residence at the White House and cities beginning to recover from the pandemic, is there some hope on the horizon for transport in the United States?
Tall Stories 249: The Beirut River, Lebanon
Adib Dada explains a unique planting method that is turning a plot of land on the banks of the Beirut River into what’s now known as Beirut’s Riverless Forest.
Diary of a year in lockdown
Monocle’s editor in chief Andrew Tuck opens up his diary charting the past 12 months, as the UK marks a year since it first entered into lockdown.
Tall Stories 248: The nightclub
We look at the night-time economy’s importance to a city, and the power of a good dance floor.
The quest for perfection
We explore some of the different approaches that cities have taken in the quest for perfection.
Tall Stories 247: Gibert Jeune, Paris
A historic bookshop in Paris’s Latin Quarter is closing its doors. We bid adieu.
The urbanist dictionary
We take a look at the language of urbanism in the hopes of unravelling the jargon frequently thrown around in city discourse.
Tall Stories 246: Jasper Park Lodge, Jasper
We stop by Jasper Park Lodge, a historic hotel in the Canadian Rockies that’s hosted plenty of famous faces.
‘Grands projets’
We look at ‘grands projets’ in cities around the world, from turning the Champs-Élysées into a giant urban garden to a reimagining of the Los Angeles river and a new community in Canada.
Tall Stories 245: Reykjavík’s Ironclads
What form do the buildings in the world’s northernmost capital take? And what is behind their distinctive look?