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 296: Pharmacy Salvator, Bratislava
Alexei Korolyov visits one of the most beautiful yet neglected buildings in Bratislava, which the city plans to reopen in all of its former splendour.
Jyoti Gondek, mayor of Calgary
On this special edition of ‘The Urbanist’, Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek joins Monocle’s Tomos Lewis to discuss her first few months in office and what’s ahead for Canada’s her city.
Tall Stories 295: Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo
Fiona Wilson visits a rare surviving example of Japanese Metabolism, whose stacked modular capsules are soon to be disassembled.
Large-scale redevelopment
Can large-scale developments become catalysts for better neighbourhoods? This week we explore repurposing efforts at London’s Battersea Power Station and in an old Sears retail space in New York state.
Tall Stories 294: Roma, Mexico City
Louis Harnett O’Meara takes us through the streets and history of the neighbourhood where Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 film of the same name is set.
Special: ‘The Monocle Book of the Nordics’
We look at some exciting projects from cities across the Nordic region, to celebrate the release of ‘The Monocle Book of the Nordics’.
Tall Stories 293: Pero’s Bridge, Bristol
Lilian Fawcett tells the tale of the bridge that served as a backdrop to the protests in 2020 that resulted in the bronze statue of Edward Colston being thrown into Bristol harbour.
Going up
We look at how skyscrapers have changed the built environment around us, and profile a few of the megastructures planning to top out in 2022.
Tall Stories 292: Barcelona’s superblocks
Julia Webster-Ayuso heads to Barcelona’s Eixample district, where city hall has a bold new plan to reprioritise streets and give space back to pedestrians.
Making places
We explore the world of place-making, enjoy some street sounds in Uruguay and visit a transformed corner of London.
