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
Tall Stories 333: Water in Las Vegas
Journalist HJ Mai assesses how the US city in the desert, perhaps best known for excess, has become a role model for others during the ongoing water crisis.
Taking out the trash
One person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure. This week we meet Vienna’s refuse collectors, Istanbul’s ‘eskicis’ and hear how Zagreb and Belgrade are addressing visual pollution in their cities.
Tall Stories 332: Jaipur, India
Geetanjali Krishna investigates how India’s Pink City got its name, and what effect the rosy hue has on residents today.
Sharing is caring
Cities are better when shared. We look into The Phoenix, a new sustainable neighbourhood planned for the south of England; talk about co-operative housing in Zürich; and stop by a new co-living complex in Leuven.
Tall Stories 331: The Salk Institute, San Diego
Ivan Carvalho visits a Louis Kahn-designed laboratory that exemplifies science and aesthetics cohabiting in harmony.
North American mayors
We check in on a few of the mayoral races taking place in North America that have caught our attention recently and speak to an incumbent mayor whose city plays a role in US national elections.
Tall Stories 330: Krater, Ljubljana
Guy De Launey visits a crater-like site in his neighbourhood that has become a showcase for sustainable construction techniques.
Utopian Hours: Turin’s growing momentum
We wrap up our conference season at Utopian Hours festival in the north of Italy, where we get urban inspiration from seven speakers and investigate why Turin has seen a burst of creative city building in recent years.
Tall Stories 329: Edificio España, Madrid
Paul Logothetis visits one of Madrid’s historic skyscrapers, recently reborn as a hotel after lying dormant for more than a decade.
What we learned at Citylab
We reflect on what we learned at this year’s Bloomberg Citylab conference in Amsterdam – from the right to protest and shade equity to cycling infrastructure and the power of local government.
