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
Utopian Hours 2024
Monocle’s Ed Stocker reports from Turin’s annual festival of urbanism, Utopian Hours, where a collection of inspiring speakers discussed everything from meanwhile spaces to climate resilience. Plus: we visit the river Po to see how it interacts with the Piedmontese capital.
Tall Stories 433: Holcim Foundation Awards series: Sou Fujimoto
Each week we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In the fifth and final episode we sit down with the…
US elections special
We are using the upcoming US election to put a spotlight on American cities and the challenges they face. We discuss housing struggles, how to get around, the changing world of work, the resulting state of downtown cores and how apps are altering our urban fabric.
Tall Stories 432: Holcim Foundation Awards series: Sandra Barclay
Every week we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In episode four we meet Peruvian architect and co-founder of Barclay…
WEF: Urban Transformation Summit
Monocle’s Carlota Rebelo reports from the World Economic Forum’s annual Urban Transformation Summit, which took place in San Francisco this week. We discover the city’s plans to build a resilient waterfront, hear about South Africa’s ambitions to tackle the housing crisis and how the private sector can help deliver urban…
Tall Stories 431: Holcim Foundation Awards series: Kjetil Thorsen
Every week we invite one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to discuss their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In episode three we speak with Norwegian architect and co-founder of…
Designing for nature
In a special episode in collaboration with the Holcim Foundation Awards, we look at how to design nature into our cities and foster sustainability in the building sector. We meet Laura Viscovich, the Holcim Foundation’s executive director for sustainable construction, and bring you a live discussion from the Natural History…
Tall Stories 430: Holcim Foundation Awards series: Lina Ghotmeh
Every week we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In episode two we sit down with Lebanese-born architect Lina Ghotmeh,…
Istanbul special
To mark Monocle’s visit to Istanbul for the annual Quality of Life Conference, we find out what makes the city tick with our local correspondent – Hannah Lucinda Smith. From an up-and-coming neighbourhood to a revitalised industrial district, and a revamped hammam too.
Tall Stories 429: Holcim Foundation Awards series: Jeanne Gang
Every week on Monocle Radio we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards, the world’s premier competition for sustainable design, to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In episode one, we sit down with the US architect…
