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
Transformative urbanism
The city is always evolving but change is not always synonymous with transformation. This week we explore how the urban environment has gradually altered, most of the time thanks to us – ordinary citizens. We discuss the concept of participatory placemaking, head to Toronto for a chat about designing urban…
Fighting the establishment
From small businesses to citizen collectives, we discover how championing transformative change from the ground up can be the best way to alter the status quo in our cities. We see how the Ministry of Space is reclaiming public spaces in Belgrade, visit Vienna to find out how ordinary citizens…
New Year’s resolutions
With our first show in 2016 come a few resolutions for cities. We discover what resolutions won’t be broken in Paris, find out how our personal ones can change cities for the better and ask if 2016 is the year New York finally does something about its airports. Plus we…
Urban heroes
We recap our series on urban heroes, looking at four real characters in the community who are actively working to make our cities better places. Join us as we meet a preservationist in Lisbon, a civic leader in Dallas, food activists in Istanbul and a media collective in Brazil.
Best of 2015
We look back over the past 12 months at some of the most colourful and fascinating moments on ‘The Urbanist’. We hop on a houseboat in San Francisco, learn the craft of bell-ringing, chat with Daniel Libeskind and party with a cycling orchestra in Rio. Plus: we stroll up and…
It’s Christmas time
As people head out to get last-minute gifts, we bring you a festive episode looking at how Christmas affects our cities. We visit Strasbourg’s 400-year-old market, discover how things got a bit out of hand with lightning decorations in Colombia and head to Madrid for a diplomatic Christmas fair. Plus:…
Hipsters
It’s the most dangerous species out there: the hipster. We look at how one of the most popular subcultures has become the scapegoat for the problems of a city, from gentrification to expensive cold brew. Join us as we explore the great hipster reshuffling in Vancouver, discover how London’s tech…
Deliveries
From cycle messengers in Lisbon to a family-owned company that delivers Scottish Christmas trees all around London, we discover how people around the world are getting their logistics sorted and how new demands transform our cities. Plus: we wrap up our series on the battle for New York’s public spaces.
Paris: My city
As the world remains on edge following the events in Paris on 13 November, we decided to take a step back to see how continuing with the Parisian way of life is the best way to fight terrorism. In the end Paris will remain just as it is – a…
Urbanistas
Would a city planned or managed by a woman look different to any other? And who are the female urban leaders and architects making a difference in the community? This week is not about adapting the city for women but looking at those women who are changing our cities for…
