The Urbanist - podcast cover

The Urbanist

Monoclemonocle.com

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. 

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Episodes

How can sports venues enhance our cities?

We delve into the power of sports to help propel the regeneration of an entire neighbourhood. We’ll explore how smart stadium design can help cities grow in a more sustainable way and hear from the architecture firm behind the world’s largest landscape-led project, Riyadh’s Sports Boulevard. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 17, 202530 min

Tall Stories 454: Matadero Madrid

Carla Hyenne takes us to Matadero Madrid to see how some well-timed redevelopment nearby made it an even more attractive destination for visitors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 14, 20254 min

Reusing waste heat, The British Library’s solar project and India’s stepwells

What are some of the ways that heating the air and water in our buildings can be made greener? We consider innovative solutions from the capture and redistribution of a building’s warmth to a solar project in London that is decarbonising The British Library’s water-heating process. Plus: we visit one of India’s historic stepwells to see how the ancient structures could provide an answer to the country’s water-supply woes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Apr 10, 202533 min

Tall Stories 453: Patel Chowk Metro Station, New Delhi

Geetanjali Krishna explores the exhibits at a unique station in the Indian capital, which aims to slow down hurried commuters and provide them with a chance for discovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 07, 20256 min

New York: privatising housing co-ops, mapping congestion and the ‘City of Yes’

It’s all about New York this week: Jonathan Tarleton talks about his new book ‘Homes for Living’, which explores the privatisation of two housing co-ops; we look at traffic and downtown gridlock; and discover how the ‘City of Yes’ plan will bring more density to the city. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 03, 202533 min

Live from Ned’s Club in London

Monocle’s editor in chief, Andrew Tuck, is joined on stage by Muyiwa Oki, the president of RIBA, alongside our executive producer, Carlota Rebelo, and design editor, Nic Monisse, to explore how thoughtful architecture, visionary developers and pioneering city-makers can redefine our cities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 27, 202527 min

Can San Francisco turn its downtown around?

We report from San Francisco as Monocle’s Christopher Lord speaks with some of the key players and devotees of the city’s downtown – an area that has most keenly felt the effects of the post-pandemic lull. The city’s mayor, as well as property developers and local business people, weigh in on the direction of travel they see for this gold-rush city known for its boom-and-bust nature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 20, 202532 min

Mipim 2025: meet the mayors

We are on the ground in Cannes for the global urban festival Mipim, where we speak with mayors from around the world who are looking to stoke interest in their cities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 13, 202538 min

Tall Stories 449: Circo Voador, Rio de Janeiro

Tomas Pinheiro tells us how concert venue Circo Voador became so intertwined with Brazilian music that it was named an intangible cultural heritage site. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 10, 20257 min

The Round megadevelopment in London and air pollution in Bangkok

We explore The Round, a new almost 93,000 sq m landmark development in London, to hear how developers are putting community at its core. Plus: we’re in Bangkok to discover how the city is tackling its suffocating air pollution. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 06, 202531 min

Revisiting, reviewing and restoring the city

We look back at snapshots of our cities as we speak to the man behind Milan’s Bosco Verticale a decade on from construction, revisit a collection of essays 14 years after they were written while strolling the streets of Toronto and see how the refurbishment of a traditional house in Old Delhi is giving a view into the city’s past. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 27, 202530 min

Tall Stories 447: Kennedy Park, Lima

Elna Schutz takes us to a park in Lima best known for its large number of well-cared-for resident cats. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 24, 20256 min

Digital democracy and the new Riyadh Metro

We explore how going digital can contribute to a thriving city democracy and improve other things such as climate resilience and urban loneliness. The CEO of digital community-engagement platform Go Vocal describes its benefit for communities, the developer behind Europe’s most digitally connected neighbourhood tells us how they did it and we stop by the new Riyadh Metro. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 20, 202530 min

Tall Stories 446: Villa Rezek, Vienna

Alexei Korolyov tells us about the refurbishment of one of Vienna’s most important modernist buildings. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 17, 20259 min

Developing London

We take a look at three developments in the UK capital that will be worth a visit in the months to come. From a revitalised piece of industrial history to a colourful waterside park in a grey business district and the big tenants pitching up beside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 13, 202531 min

Tall Stories 445: Maha Kumbh Mela, Prayagraj

Geetanjali Krishna takes us to a temporary city on the banks of the Ganges river to investigate a large example of temporary urbanism brought about by a Hindu pilgrimage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 10, 20257 min

Cultural city planning

We explore how keeping culture in mind when planning our cities can have effects beyond just arts-related improvements. The people behind ‘The Routledge Handbook of Urban Cultural Planning’ tell us more. Plus: we visit a treasured museum in Lima and look ahead to some cultural institutions that are set to open in 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 06, 202530 min

Tall Stories 444: Sacré-Cœur, Paris

Carla Hyenne describes the history of Paris’s Sacré-Cœur basilica, which holds a history that many of those who visit the monument today might not be familiar with. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 03, 20255 min

Los Angeles wildfires and the future of the city

We discuss the environmental causes, political response and mobility fallout surrounding the Los Angeles wildfires. We examine some of the thousands of structures lost to this catastrophic blaze that tore through many of LA’s neighbourhoods and communities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 30, 202534 min

Tall Stories 443: Helsinki’s canopy kiosks

Petri Burtsoff visits his home city to see how it has revived its “canopy kiosks”, which have been a distinctive feature of the Finnish capital for a century. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 27, 20254 min

The World Economic Forum: cities of tomorrow

From creating more resilient cities to how architecture can lift a community, cities hold the key to meaningful change in the world. Monocle’s Carlota Rebelo reports from The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos to find out where cities are headed next. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 23, 202534 min

Tall Stories 442: 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa

Tomos Lewis ponders a potential spring clean of Canada’s official prime ministerial residence. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 20, 20256 min

Materials matter

How can the materials with which we choose to build affect the economics, sustainability and resilience of our built environment? We explore the material world through a recent title about available resources, an explainer on using soil for structures and a visit to the world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials and systems. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 16, 202530 min

Tall Stories 441: Shuri Castle, Okinawa

Tomás Pinheiro describes the recent renovation of one of Okinawa’s Unesco World Heritage Sites after a devastating fire in 2019, as well as the history of reconstructions that this castle has undergone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 13, 20257 min

Destinations for 2025

We visit two destinations that should factor into your 2025 travel plans. In Portugal we assess the hospitality sector after a record year in visitor numbers, then we tune in to the sounds of Tokyo to hear what sonic attractions await you in the Japanese capital. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 09, 202529 min

Tall Stories 440: Motel Plitvice, Zagreb

Guy de Launey reviews an icon of Yugoslav architecture in a motorway service station just outside Zagreb. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 06, 20258 min
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