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
The built environment and Toronto’s missing middle
This week we talk to Sarah Williams Goldhagen on the way our built environment shapes us, hear about Toronto’s missing middle and New York’s latest addition: a floating food forest.
Tall Stories 51: The Old England department store
We wax lyrical about one of Brussels most spectacular art-nouveau structures: the Old England department store, which is now home to the Musical Instruments Museum.
Something old, something new
We discuss China’s plans to build a brand-new city three times the size of New York, hear how Serbia’s capital is preparing for a cycling revolution and examine the project trying to “beautify” Cairo’s downtown.
Tall Stories 50: the house of Black Madonna
When Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque pioneered cubism in Paris, young Czech artists such as Pavel Janák and Josef Gočár saw the artistic movement as a way to dilute their country’s decorative architectural style. Czechoslovakia was one of the first nations to apply cubism to architecture and the house of…
Sensory urbanism
How can we improve the way we interact with our cities? This week we explore a ‘sensory’ waterfront in Seattle, hop on a smelling tour of Austria’s capital and ask if Lisbon is tackling noise as it should.
Tall Stories 49: Daily News Building
‘The New York Daily News’ is no longer headquartered on East 42nd Street, but the Daily News Building still stands as a shining art deco tribute to the art of the newspaper. And while its designer left an indelible mark on the city, to many outside observers the building might…
Loneliness
Cities are busy beasts but being constantly surrounded by people doesn’t necessarily prevent us from feeling lonely. The hustle and bustle of city life can be overwhelming, especially for newcomers – so what’s the best way to tackle urban loneliness?
Tall Stories 48: the English pug and the French poodle
Monocle’s Toronto bureau chief, Tomos Lewis, takes us to Montréal to assess the significance of two bronze statues – of two pet pooches – that speak of the city’s past divisions and the promise of a unified future.
On track?
All Olympic Games host cities must consider their legacy and whether the price of hosting is actually worth it. We look back to Rio de Janeiro, Sydney and more.
Tall Stories 47: park benches
This week we make our way to Regent’s Park to find traditional London park benches: wooden armrests at either end and wide enough to accommodate three ample backsides. Who doesn’t love a good park bench?
