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
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.
Tall Stories 291: Perili Köşk, Istanbul
Emily Wither visits Istanbul’s historic haunted house, which shifts from an office space during the week to an art gallery at weekends.
Harm reduction and the ‘war on drugs’
We look at some of the organisations and activists promoting the sometimes controversial harm-reduction approach to the issue of drugs in our cities.
Tall Stories 290: Kyiv’s Metro
Hester Underhill marvels at the stunning architecture that the Ukrainian capital keeps buried in its underground metro stations.
Europe’s cycling revolution
We look across Europe to survey the various initiatives that cities have launched to encourage cycling and support those who get around on two wheels.
Tall Stories 289: Las Setas, Seville
Conor Faulkner tells the tale of a controversial piece of public architecture in Seville and why it exemplifies the city’s urban fabric.
Past pandemics and future cities
We examine how our urban fabric has been moulded by pandemics of the past, and look forward to explore how our cities will deal with the challenges of the future.
Tall Stories 288: Field of Corn, Columbus, Ohio
Diana Kruzman investigates a collection of maize monoliths that populate a grassy field in suburban Columbus, Ohio.
