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
Chasing zero
Cities around the world are making commitments to reduce their net carbon emissions to zero. But what are the steps being taken to ensure this goal is achieved, and who is leading the race towards a greener urban future?
Better community policing
Monocle’s Chris Cermak reports from the Professionalizing Law Enforcement-Community Engagement Training Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, to explore how police can better interact with the communities they serve and gain their trust.
The fate of the department store
In this special roundtable discussion, The Urbanist debates what is best for our grand old department stores. Should they be revitalised, repurposed or removed? Henrietta Billings from SAVE Britain’s Heritage and Toby Pentecost of the property developer Candour join us to consider the options.
Planning ahead
We explore the virtues of second cities as master-plan test-beds, speak to a Ukrainian mayor hoping to build back better after the war and look into how virtual reality can improve the way our buildings sound.
City lessons from Salone del Mobile
We explore some of the promising plans and inspiring ideas for our cities that we have heard while floating around the exhibition halls of this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan.
The Urbanist Book Club
We convene another meeting of the Urbanist Book Club to highlight two titles that have caught our eye: ‘Carmageddon’ by Daniel Knowles and ‘Why Public Space Matters’ by Setha Low.
The future of Milan
Monocle’s Ed Stocker explores his adopted home of Milan to find out what the future holds for the city. From new metro infrastructure to a sweep of new buildings and neighbourhoods – big-name architects, planners and developers have plenty planned for the city.
Sweden’s urban experiments
We’re shining a light on Sweden – a country that dares to take urban experimentation to the next level. We visit an exciting community project in Duved, explore the architectural variety of Linköping and hear why Helsingborg is a cycling mecca.
Fresh perspectives
We gain novel views on the urban environment as we delve into the world of ‘meanwhile use’, stop by The Urban Room to see how Auckland is enjoying a fresh look at the city and try to redefine public perception of an infamous figure’s place of birth.
Mipim property fair
We report from Mipim, the world’s leading property fair, which is taking place in Cannes. We meet investors, developers, planners and local leaders to hear how they’re working to build more sustainably and create better cities and greener public areas.
