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
Transforming our cities
What’s the formula for a city that works? We look at how some of our favourite urban projects are transforming their cities – and offer a model for building happier communities.
Reading the signs
We look to the world of wayfinding and city signage to explore where our information comes from and how it shapes the way we navigate our streets.
Reopening our cities
As urban life slowly returns to normal, what sort of cities are we about to encounter? This week we look at the reopening of community centres and hear about plans to temporarily pedestrianise London’s Soho (and why that should be here to stay).
What’s the role of the police in our cities?
The demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd have put police forces in the spotlight, particularly in the US, where they have reignited debate about the role of the police and whether forces need to be overhauled.
A good response
We look at some of the better executed reactions to the coronavirus pandemic from countries around the world and assess how cities have been at the core of both the fallout and the recovery.
The challenge of isolation
We look at how those living in high-density areas, or without any form of home at all, have gone about the tricky task of protecting their health during the coronavirus pandemic.
Moving day
We look at some of the migration habits and moving-day quirks of city dwellers around the world from before the coronavirus outbreak, as well as at how to move an historic red-light district.
Letters from the city
How a city handles a pandemic reveals much about its character. As urban centres around the world begin to reopen, Monocle’s correspondents send us letters from their own outposts.
Coronavirus and mobility
The pandemic has reshaped the way that we move around our cities. Public transport usage is at an all-time low, cycling is on the rise and pedestrians have been reclaiming the streets and pavements. Could this be an opportunity for actual change in the places we live?
Our relationship with food
We are joined by author Carolyn Steel to assess how we interact with food and what we might do after the pandemic to improve our relationship with what we eat.
