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
Tall Stories 143: Copacabana Palace
The Copacabana Palace is an icon of Brazilian glamour and sophistication – and Rio de Janeiro’s art-deco masterpiece holds the same charm today as it did when it opened its doors in 1923. So dress up and delve into the history of the hotel with Monocle 24’s very own Brazilian,…
Elements: earth
Earthquakes are one of the most unpredictable and uncontrollable natural disasters that our urban centres face. We continue our series on elements with a spotlight on Los Angeles.
Tall Stories 142: Hundertwasserhaus
This week we head to Vienna to hear the story of the odd – but architecturally interesting – Hundertwasserhaus.
Elements: air
We meet the author of new book called ‘Choked’ that takes a fresh approach to air pollution, look at super typhoons in Hong Kong and sing the praises of the creator of the humble AC unit.
Tall Stories 141: The Braille Institute of America
Monocle’s Tomos Lewis takes us on a tour of this brutalist complex designed by the architects Arthur Yohannan and Sergio Miranda.
Elements: water
How are our cities dealing with rising water levels? And what approaches are being used to make them more resilient?
Tall Stories 140: Sunset Tower
Monocle editor Andrew Tuck takes a look at this Hollywood architectural legend – and the tales behind it.
Spring cleaning
How to keep New York’s subway clean, why Calgary is using beetroot brine to clear the streets of snow and the importance of going green. And a city icon: Rio de Janeiro’s street-sweepers.
Tall Stories 139: Moscow’s trolleybuses
Trolleybuses have been used extensively in Moscow since they first appeared in 1933. Now the city’s government wants to get rid of them, citing traffic concerns and maintenance costs.
Back on track
We head to San Francisco to hear how a city can be built on such steep topography, examine Vienna’s plans to reduce property speculation and get an architectural tour of former Yugoslav cities.
