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
Temporary cities
The temporary city: author Peter Bishop joins us to look at transient urban trends in Manhattan and Tokyo.
Urban fantasy
Fantasy cities: Peter Murray tells us his vision for 2050, we hear about Beirut’s future plans and visit a comic artist in Paris.
City separation
Divided cities: from religion to economics, The Urbanist finds out why walls don’t work and how a flourishing neighbourhood doesn’t mean it’s any more neighbourly.
Business hubs
Business cities: Andrew Tuck speaks to commuters, planners and creatives in Sydney, Beijing, Paris and London to learn what makes a good place do business.
Keeping a city spick and span
How to keep a city clean: we meet a London street sweeper, learn why Malmö ditched rubbish trucks and look at Milan’s graffiti problem.
Metropolitan neighbours
Urban neighbours: the Chilean mayor re-housing dogs, an Australian whose garage sale have gone global and the San Francisco restaurateur who created a food park.
Urban rivers
Rivers: Tom Bolton guides us down London’s lost waterways and we learn about plans to turn part of New York’s East River into a resort.
Gangsters, prison and crime
Crime and the city: the Chicago prison in a skyscraper, how Oslo street lighting prevents crime and a look at New York gangsters of old.
Reviving small business
How New York is bringing back small businesses, urban researcher John Bingham-Hall on Detroit and Richard Florida on how to fix a city.
Skyscrapers: the new and the old
Skyscrapers: This week’s show is all about tall buildings, from icons of hope to crumbling remains of empires in decline.
