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
Rethinking the suburb
Are the boundaries between urban, suburban and rural blurring? From exploring new ways to expand our cities to dealing with a shifting balance of power, we look at the power of today’s suburb.
All the way up
What surprising things do we find high-up in cities and what can you tell by looking down on them from the sky? In this episode we visit Vienna’s only tower, head to Rio de…
Urban lighting
When we build towers, monuments or parks, we plan them for the daytime. And in most cities, not much thought is given to how we illuminate or even enhance them. In this episode we…
Feathered friends
With an influential audience of city mayors, urban planners and architects, this is Monocle’s guide to making better cities, be it new technology, state-of-the-art subways or compact apartments.
What is to be done with the public realm?
We look at the space between our buildings: whose responsibility is it to lay out the welcome mat and make them enjoyable, inviting and popular? Find out why residents and businesses are doing their…
After the dust settles
Cities are places built to bring people together but every so often conflict and unrest in urban centres means that communal trust is broken. This episode of *The Urbanist* looks at how cities heal…
The ticking clock
Timekeeping has a big impact on urban life, from iconic clocks and watchmakers to city-wide alarms and historic church bells. We find out about life as a bell-ringer and discover which timezone gives a…
The floating city
How do you best use space on water? From homes and churches to restaurants and markets, we find out how cities are taking to the water and how to do it right.
Big ideas, small packages
Urban innovation often starts as a minuscule experiment – and then it’s turned up. Big ideas about cities don’t always mean super-structures, mega-projects and mass appeal. When it comes to services, amenities and leisure,…
On the map
They expose the hidden corners of our cities usually lost in the mix but maps are not just for tourists. On this week’s episode of *The Urbanist* we get lost in the art of…
