The Urbanist
Monocle
With an influential audience of city mayors, urban planners and architects, this is Monocle’s guide to making better cities, be it new technology, state-of-the-art subways or compact apartments. Nominee in the Smartest Podcast category of the 2019 British Podcast awards.
Location:
London, United Kingdom
Networks:
Monocle
Description:
With an influential audience of city mayors, urban planners and architects, this is Monocle’s guide to making better cities, be it new technology, state-of-the-art subways or compact apartments. Nominee in the Smartest Podcast category of the 2019 British Podcast awards.
Language:
English
Contact:
Midori House, 1 Dorset Street, London, W1U 4EG, UK +44 20 7725 4388
Email:
info@monocle.com
Episodes
UN-Habitat’s call to action on housing, a Bloomberg-LSE programme for mayors and Expo Real in Munich
10/9/2025
We look at the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative teaching mayors how to tackle their cities' challenges, talk about UN-Habitat's global call to action on housing and report from Expo Real and Diriyah.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:33:30
Tall Stories 479: Dubai’s totemic Toyota Building
10/6/2025
Inzamam Rashid tells us how an advertising partnership helped to shape the identity of a burgeoning Dubai.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:06:53
What can cities learn from nature? Discover The Bioplanning Institute and the Bundanon Art Museum
10/2/2025
We meet Dror Benshetrit, a founding member of The Bioplanning Institute, who’s reframing urbanism through an ecological design lens. Plus: how the Bundanon Art Museum in Australia teaches cities to better interact with the natural world.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:28:12
IPUT special: meet chief executive Niall Gaffney
10/1/2025
Join us for a special episode in partnership with IPUT, Dublin’s leading property-investment company. We meet chief executive Nial Gaffney to talk about building community and setting new benchmarks for cities in Ireland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:19:34
Tall Stories 478: Feira de São Cristóvão – a Nordestino feast in Rio de Janeiro
9/29/2025
Tomás Pinheiro takes us to a space in Rio de Janeiro that brings together all the best offerings from Brazil’s northeastern region and is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:08:25
The secrets to urban crowd control, compassionate design and the World Tramdriver Championship
9/25/2025
We find out how cities move crowds safely and efficiently, investigate how design can affect health and wellbeing, and stop by the World Tramdriver Championship in Vienna.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:31:51
Tall Stories 477: Biidaasige Park – how Toronto combines green space and flood protection
9/22/2025
Mandy Sinclair takes us to Toronto to explore the largest new park opening in a generation, which helps to prevent flooding and provide green space for residents and visitors.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:06:33
What we learned at the World Design Congress
9/18/2025
As the World Design Congress ponders a response to climate change, we meet one of the world’s best architects and an indigenous design expert. Plus: we visit Seattle’s new Waterfront Park.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:31:09
Tall Stories 476: Dulles International Airport’s Mobile Lounges, Washington
9/15/2025
Gregory Scruggs unpacks a heritage feature of Dulles International Airport in Washington that to this day gives the terminal a unique charm.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:07:42
Cape Town’s liveability secrets – highlights from Monocle’s Quality of Life Conference
9/11/2025
What are Cape Town’s secrets to liveability, how do you act like a local in Barcelona and why is the UAE the best place to bring people together?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:27:58
Tall Stories 475: Bethlem Royal Hospital and Bethlem Museum of the Mind, London
9/8/2025
Monocle’s Sophie Monaghan-Coombs tells us the story of the world’s oldest psychiatric hospital, founded in the 13th century in London.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:07:47
Want to find utopia? Try Columbia, Maryland
9/4/2025
We visit one of the US’s more successful attempts at a utopian society, as well as a mass-timber tower in Portland and the winners of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:31:38
Tall Stories 474: Fuggerei, Augsburg – Germany’s 88-cent rent
9/1/2025
Valerie Hamilton takes us to the world’s oldest public-housing complex, which has a very unique payment system.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:05:22
Crowdfunding community projects, personalised airport terminals and a Swiss folk festival
8/28/2025
We explore a crowdfunding platform for community projects, learn how to personalise the airport-retail experience and head to the Olten Chilbi folk festival in Switzerland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:33:42
Tall Stories 473: The Hope for Peace Monument, Beirut
8/25/2025
Noor Amylia Hilda takes us to the outskirts of Beirut to visit a monument for peace constructed from instruments of war.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:05:31
How good design affects a city beyond the aesthetic – from coastal resilience to safer transit
8/21/2025
We unpack two stories exemplifying the principle that thoughtful design can have a deeper impact than just being pleasant to look at.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:27:31
Tall Stories 472: Al-Nawfara Coffee Shop, Damascus
8/18/2025
Liam Syed takes us to a café in Damascus that serves up regional favourites blended with stories of the Syrian capital’s past.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:04:49
How can the arts and culture sectors boost a city’s economy?
8/14/2025
We assess how cultural spaces, music venues and arts festivals can bring a city economic success.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:29:02
Tall Stories 471: Aalto Siilo – the ugliest building in Oulu
8/11/2025
Wif Stenger describes how the so-called “ugliest building in Oulu” can be redesigned to serve as a community treasure.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:05:25
Earning the commute – how do we get city centres humming again?
8/7/2025
We chair a roundtable conversation on the future of the office and how good design can bring people back to our city centres.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:00:28:21