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
Time for an update
After 46 years, Paris is set to welcome a new skyscraper. Plus: we look at a photography book showcasing Atlantic City and discuss sick-building syndrome.
Death and the city
How do cities plan for the afterlife? We visit the places where space for the dead is almost as expensive as it is for the living. Plus: a modernist approach to the cemetery and the importance of archeology in cities.
Urban air mobility
This week we look to the sky. Monocle’s Americas editor at large Ed Stocker reports from Aerial Futures in Boston, where experts gathered to discuss everything from cargo drones to urban-mobility design.
After the fire
The fire in Notre-Dame brought the world to a standstill. This wasn’t about the human loss or the area affected by it. It was about something bigger: a shared cultural heritage that unites us all – believers and non-believers. It also led us to reflect on the Great Fire of…
In praise of the city airport
Bigger planes and more flights have forced many cities to move their key airport far from the centre. But there is something special about watching the city from above as you land in what feels like the middle of it. This week we ask what makes a great city airport.
Shouting from the rooftops
We explore the many options for urban-rooftop spaces. From city agriculture to solar power, drinking and dining to drone parking, we go through some potential plans for your next upper-level project.
What’s new?
We find out why Amsterdam wants to reclaim more than 11,000 car-parking spaces, how a Paris suburb is limbering up for the 2024 Olympic Games, get a dose of immersive tourism in Sarajevo and a look at Chicago’s newly elected mayor.
Affordable housing
We look at Helsinki’s model of mixed housing, Cairo’s plan to end all slum dwellings by the end of the year and hear why the state of California is suing some of its own cities over affordability.
New projects
We look at Hong Kong’s Lantau Tomorrow Vision project, hear about a new all-female ride-sharing company in São Paulo and more.
Urban wildlife
This week we look at urban wildlife across the globe – and how people feel about it. Hear about kangaroos in Canberra, weasels in Cairo and even scorpions in São Paulo.
