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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 128: Y-Block
We’re in Oslo to hear the story of a former government building left in limbo since the 2011 terrorist attacks. But many argue in favour of its architectural value, mainly due to the large mural on its façade designed by Pablo Picasso.
Cities on screen
From sci-fi to rom-coms and beyond, we cast our gaze to the silver screen to get some notes on how to build our cities right, plus a bit of set-jetting too.
Tall Stories 127: Community cinemas
Despite the arrival of streaming services and multiplex theatres, good independent cinemas are thriving. This week we examine the charm – and power – of the community cinema.
Highlights
This week we raid our archive and bring you a special highlight episode: we discover how Albania has cracked down on organised crime, why violent crime rates have been dropping in the US and much more.
Tall Stories 126: Millennium Dome
This bold urban project was designed to usher the UK into the third millennium but it didn’t quite go according to plan.
On the move
It’s the last instalment of our series unpacking ‘The Monocle Guide to Building Better Cities’. This week we turn our focus to mobility.
Tall Stories 125: Helsinki Central Railway Station
With 200,000 passengers a day, Helsinki Central Railway Station is Finland’s most visited building. But its significance for the Nordic nation lies in much more than just the people who travel through its doors.
Work & the city
We continue to unpack our new book, ‘The Monocle Guide to Building Better Cities’. This week we turn our focus to chapter 7, looking at the places where we work.
Tall Stories 124: The Melnikov House
Konstantin Melnikov’s most significant building was the house he built for himself in 1929. It remained in the Melnikov family for decades until, in 2014 after much legal wrangling, it was taken over by the Moscow Museum of Architecture.
Building Better Cities: Barcelona
We continue to explore the pages of ‘The Monocle Guide to Building Better Cities’. This week we’re off to the Catalonian capital to hear how the city has changed through the years and what lessons it has learned for the future.
