
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

Utopian Hours 2024
Monocle’s Ed Stocker reports from Turin’s annual festival of urbanism, Utopian Hours, where a collection of inspiring speakers discussed everything from meanwhile spaces to climate resilience. Plus: we visit the river Po to see…

US elections special
We are using the upcoming US election to put a spotlight on American cities and the challenges they face. We discuss housing struggles, how to get around, the changing world of work, the resulting…

WEF: Urban Transformation Summit
Monocle’s Carlota Rebelo reports from the World Economic Forum’s annual Urban Transformation Summit, which took place in San Francisco this week. We discover the city’s plans to build a resilient waterfront, hear about South…

Designing for nature
In a special episode in collaboration with the Holcim Foundation Awards, we look at how to design nature into our cities and foster sustainability in the building sector. We meet Laura Viscovich, the Holcim…

Istanbul special
To mark Monocle’s visit to Istanbul for the annual Quality of Life Conference, we find out what makes the city tick with our local correspondent – Hannah Lucinda Smith. From an up-and-coming neighbourhood to…

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat International Conference
We report from the CTBUH International Conference at London’s Barbican Centre where keynote speakers and city-building experts discuss how to do density better.

America’s downtowns
At a tough time for downtown districts, we visit San Francisco and Seattle to find out how the urban centres are trying to encourage more footfall and appeal to the public during work and…

Old and young, plus the ‘sponge city’ concept
We look out for the oldest – and youngest – residents of our cities as we explore how design can combat loneliness among the elderly, and how children in Helsinki can learn while enjoying…

Muscat’s transformation & how design can save our cities
As the capital of Oman begins an era of urban expansion, we speak with the firm tasked with forming a plan for the region’s future growth. Then: we tackle some of the existential challenges…

Crystal Palace Park, ice-cream urbanism & revamping India’s train stations
We explore some summery stories as the season comes to a close in the Northern Hemisphere, including how ice-cream-shop owners and urbanists think alike, plans for regenerating London’s Crystal Palace Park and revitalisation efforts…