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
Boosting populations
Come together: in the drive for density, what is the difference between good and bad? We visit Manila, New York, Madrid and Perth to ask how cities should be boosting city-centre populations.
Fast and slow
Fast and slow: we take a look at when and where we want speed in cities, from overnight construction and fast food to slowed streets and tech detoxes. Our study subjects: Paris, San Francisco, Belgrade and Istanbul.
The feral city
The feral city: what happens when City Hall doesn’t cut it and residents take things into their own hands? From lawless post-war developments in Beirut to Belgrade’s squat-turned-arts centre, we look at how city dwellers are doing it for themselves.
Urban experimentation
Experimentation: whether it’s City Hall or community crusaders, innovation arrives through daring to do things differently.
City-friendly
The friendly suffix: Why cities are hankering after eco-friendly architecture, pedestrian-friendly streets or a talent-friendly business image. We also visit the ‘friendliest’ and ‘unfriendliest’ cities in the US and take a critical look at cycle-friendly Amsterdam.
Keep it moving
Keep it moving: What’s the impact of the ebb and flow of people on the urban environment? We catch up with a roaming public square in London, try to find love in Hong Kong and check in to Geneva’s diplomatic welcome centre.
Tackling Detroit
Detroit: What is to be done? We collect advice on bringing people and money back to the city from neighbourhoods and experts around the world who’ve been in financial trouble themselves.
The high streets
On a high: why we’re optimistic about our high streets. We talk about how to perfect scale, mix and mobility in London, Santiago and Vancouver.
From the rubble: demolition
Demolition: when is it time to clear it all away and start afresh? We speak to those who decide when to list buildings, those who build new, and the artists, activists and architects that are taking action.
London maps
London maps: why the map app didn’t start with the smartphone (Georgian women had one, kind of) and how cartography provides insight into social histories and imagined futures.
