The Urbanist
Monocle’s guide to better cities. Explore urban innovation, cutting-edge infrastructure, and compact living with insights from planners, architects, and city leaders.
Latest Episodes
What we learned at the World Design Congress
As the World Design Congress ponders a response to climate change, we meet one of the world’s best architects and an indigenous design expert. Plus: we visit Seattle’s new Waterfront Park.
Tall Stories 476: Dulles International Airport’s Mobile Lounges, Washington
Gregory Scruggs unpacks a heritage feature of Dulles International Airport in Washington that to this day gives the terminal a unique charm.
Cape Town’s liveability secrets – highlights from Monocle’s Quality of Life Conference
What are Cape Town’s secrets to liveability, how do you act like a local in Barcelona and why is the UAE the best place to bring people together?
Tall Stories 475: Bethlem Royal Hospital and Bethlem Museum of the Mind, London
Monocle’s Sophie Monaghan-Coombs tells us the story of the world’s oldest psychiatric hospital, founded in the 13th century in London.
Want to find utopia? Try Columbia, Maryland
We visit one of the US’s more successful attempts at a utopian society, as well as a mass-timber tower in Portland and the winners of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
Tall Stories 474: Fuggerei, Augsburg – Germany’s 88-cent rent
Valerie Hamilton takes us to the world’s oldest public-housing complex, which has a very unique payment system.
Crowdfunding community projects, personalised airport terminals and a Swiss folk festival
We explore a crowdfunding platform for community projects, learn how to personalise the airport-retail experience and head to the Olten Chilbi folk festival in Switzerland.
Tall Stories 473: The Hope for Peace Monument, Beirut
Noor Amylia Hilda takes us to the outskirts of Beirut to visit a monument for peace constructed from instruments of war.
How good design affects a city beyond the aesthetic – from coastal resilience to safer transit
We unpack two stories exemplifying the principle that thoughtful design can have a deeper impact than just being pleasant to look at.
Tall Stories 472: Al-Nawfara Coffee Shop, Damascus
Liam Syed takes us to a café in Damascus that serves up regional favourites blended with stories of the Syrian capital’s past.
