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
How do we age in our cities?
As more and more people move to cities, it is important to ensure the built environment is prepared to receive them at all stages in life. This week it’s all about urban ageing: from an architect’s solution to the global ageing crisis, to designing “age-friendly” cities. Plus: we examine Tokyo’s…
One step at a time
The floor we step on every single day is an essential piece of urban design. We examine Portugal’s limestone calçadas, Singapore’s unique ‘five foot ways’ and Turin’s covered pavements. Plus: we imagine a world in which every single step we take in a city is converted into energy.
Tech fixes
It’s all about simple tech fixes this week as we explore some of the small tweaks that are taking city living to the next level. Can technology actually make the cities of tomorrow better places to live? We sit down with Boston’s chief information officer Jascha Franklin-Hodge to hear his…
Down under
We’re off to Australia, a mighty nation with some big city challenges. We look at a one of the country’s biggest urban renewal projects in Melbourne, visit Sydney’s William Street to see the state of brick-and-mortar retail in a nation that’s been a big adopter of e-commerce and hear how…
Up, up we go
High-rises are associated with a certain culture and lifestyle but it’s not always a case of ‘us vs. them’. We explore the cultural legacy of some London gems from the 1960s, discover the unique skyline of São Paulo and get a window into the iconic Torres Blancas housing complex in…
How do you create a healthy city?
We look at the city as a human habitat and explore how to include our health and needs in the architectural canvas. There are urban fixes and planning decisions that can contribute to our wellbeing so how do you create a city that is healthy for both body and mind?
1891: Victorian London
We head back in time to find out how different London looked in 1891 and go through some of the city’s achievements to get a glimpse of what life was like in the capital. We explore the architectural legacy of Victorian London, see how the introduction of the railway changed…
Heritage
We revisit the theme of heritage this week and explore why we should learn to cherish the history of our cities, from the importance of conservation in one of the world’s oldest medinas in Tunis to a tour of Vienna’s less-charming listed buildings. Plus: is the terraced house in Britain…
Cities on the big screen
This week we’ve joined forces with ‘The Cinema Show’ to bring you a special episode on the relationship between our cities and the big screen. We explore how movies can shape a city as a brand, chat with James Sanders about New York on film and head to Belgrade to…
Department stores
Department stores have redefined the shopping habits of many but what impact did they actually have in the city when they first appeared? We look at the history of the London department store and head to Paris to explore France’s first, Le Bon Marché. We also discover that Istanbul’s old…
