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...
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
Tall Stories 510: Exploring Taiwan’s flying-saucer ghost town
5/25/2026
Stefan Dubowski takes us to the beaches of Taiwan’s Wanli district to see a largely abandoned collection of futuristic abodes.
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Duration:00:06:30
Why does a safer city for children mean a better urban environment for all?
5/21/2026
We check back in with our friends at the Start With Children, and hear from the duo who hosted one of the organisation’s miniseries of lectures, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett. Plus: we hear from this year’s World Urban Forum in Baku.
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Duration:00:30:49
Tall Stories 509: Taking in Mt Fuji from a new tourist-focused train route
5/18/2026
Julia Kim rides the Hokusai Special Train – a new journey aimed at foreign tourists to take in breathtaking views of Mt Fuji.
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Duration:00:04:55
Why co-housing could be the answer to urban loneliness
5/14/2026
We explore a new style of neighbourhood that could improve social connection and ease cost of living. We also assess Vietnam’s evolving tourism landscape and see how mayors are fighting back against authoritarianism.
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Duration:00:29:17
Arup at 80: Design for what’s next
5/12/2026
A special episode brought to you in collaboration with Arup. We hear from Anna König Jerlmyr, former mayor of Stockholm; Raj Patel, Arup’s chief innovation officer; and award-winning designer Thomas Heatherwick.
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Duration:00:30:00
Tall Stories 508: Inside Jaipur’s traditional enclosed bazaars
5/11/2026
Geetanjali Krishna explores Jaipur’s ‘katlas’ – traditional enclosed market spaces that continue to thrive despite the city’s growing number of shopping malls.
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Duration:00:06:02
Old and new: How to build a neighborhood and reinvent a historic one
5/7/2026
We discover two projects aiming to deliver a human-centric masterplan: Ion Riva in Turkey and Diriyah in Saudi Arabia. Plus: how the Fleet Street Quarter is reinventing the historic London district.
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Duration:00:30:15
Tall Stories 507: Maracaibo’s Iglesia Cristo de Aranza
5/4/2026
Gustavo Ocando Alex takes us to a church in Venezuela’s second city of Maracaibo that helps tell the story of the country’s history.
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Duration:00:04:38
Collaboration and experimentation at the Bloomberg CityLab summit in Madrid
4/30/2026
Carlota Rebelo reports from the Bloomberg CityLab summit in Madrid, bringing us conversations with the most insightful speakers who have descended on the Spanish capital.
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Duration:00:27:12
Tall Stories 506: The renaissance of Suzhou Creek’s Left Bank
4/27/2026
Tomás Pinheiro heads to Shanghai’s Suzhou Creek to see how the area went from a forgotten district to a sought-after commercial and residential location.
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Duration:00:06:44
A bridge designer’s guide to connecting communities
4/23/2026
Bridge designer Ezra Groskin from Moxon Architects talks about how his craft connects our cities. Then: Kate Brown describes the quiet revolutions garnered from tiny gardens in our urban environments.
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Duration:00:29:40
Tall Stories 505: Linz’s Grottenbahn – a dreamland surrounded by history
4/20/2026
Alexei Korolyov takes a ride on Linz’s Grottenbahn – a classic tourist attraction that takes you through one of the city’s former fortification towers.
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Duration:00:05:52
How major events have influenced Milan’s urban infrastructure
4/16/2026
We look at the legacy left by Milan’s Expo 2015 and the Olympic Winter Games on urban infrastructure. Then: Ottawa’s winter-transport report. Plus: Hong Kong’s plans to develop 120 hectares of protected wetlands.
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Duration:00:30:54
Tall Stories 504: Caracas’s El Helicoide – from mall to political prison to rebirth
4/13/2026
Camille Rodríguez Montilla investigates the dark history and hopeful future of Caracas’s mall-turned-political-prison – El Helicoide.
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Duration:00:06:10
Breaking ground or breaking promises? New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days in office
4/9/2026
We discuss some of the promises that led to Zohran Mamdani’s election, from affordability and small businesses to transit. Plus: how are immigrant communities reacting to one of their own sitting in city hall?
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Duration:00:37:20
Tall Stories 503: The Sámi Cultural Centre in Finland and its impact
4/6/2026
Petri Burtsoff takes us to Sajos, in Finland’s northern Lapland, a centre for culture and administration in the Sámi community.
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Duration:00:05:32
Finding out what our urban futures hold in Ljubljana
4/2/2026
Guy de Launey reports from Urban Future, a Better Cities event taking place this year in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.
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Duration:00:29:38
Tall Stories 502: The Columbus Lighthouse’s bizarre origin story
3/30/2026
Gregory Scruggs tells the odd tale of the energy-sapping totem that is Santo Domingo’s Columbus Lighthouse.
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Duration:00:07:01
How Apple delivers a sense of place to the built environment
3/26/2026
We speak with Apple’s VP of places, Kristina Raspe, about how the tech giant’s real-estate portfolio adds to cities. Then: the changing face of Medellin and we farewell our long-time producer.
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Duration:00:30:05
Tall Stories 501: How does Taipei 101 stay standing? It’s what’s inside that counts
3/23/2026
Clarissa Wei climbs Taiwan’s best-known tower to investigate the clever engineering that keeps it in the sky.
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Duration:00:06:35