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
Resite 2018
We report from the Resite conference in Prague and explore the theme: ‘accommodate’. From businesses, to homes and people: how should cities be planned to ensure there is enough space for everyone? Featuring Jeanne Gang, Sou Fujimoto, Elizabeth Streb and Dara Huang.
Tall Stories 111: the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Standing proudly in downtown Los Angeles, the Walt Disney Concert Hall is difficult to miss. The complex may fool you at first with its sharp stainless steel edges but once inside the tone changes and it becomes warm and inviting.
Football and urbanism
From floating pitches to the importance of stadiums to their cities, as fans around the world prepare for kick-off in Russia, we take a broader look at the role that football can play in bringing people together.
Tall Stories 110: Seoul
This week our correspondent Jason Strother delves into the history of Seoul to explore what keeps this vibrant city afloat.
Smart cities and housing
We speak to Jonathan Woetzel from the McKinsey Global Institute to hear how we can use technology to improve our quality of life. Plus: commuting between Austria and Slovakia and the president of the Urban Land Institute.
Tall Stories 109: Merihaka
This week we head to Helsinki to hear the story of the brutalist high-rise Merihaka: one of the city’s most unloved buildings.
Venice Biennale and more
We report from the Venice Biennale 2018 where we sit down for a chat with the architect David Chipperfield and also with Helsinki’s mayor Jan Vapaavuori. We also meet the architect running for mayor of Bratislava and find out what he might bring to the table.
Tall Stories 108: London’s Principal
We visit London’s Bloomsbury neighbourhood to hear the story of a recently refurbished 1890s gem: the Principal hotel.
Cities in focus
We meet the architect and artist Daan Roosegaarde to hear about his projects tackling air pollution, look at the legacy of the outgoing mayor of Vienna and catch up with Egypt’s plans for a purpose-built administrative capital.
Tall Stories 107: Alexandra Palace
This week we hear the story of one of London’s Victorian wonders: Alexandra Palace. It has long served as a centre for entertainment in north London, despite its tumultuous past.
