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
Tall Stories 486: The towering beauty of Switzerland’s Grande Dixence Dam
11/24/2025
Jessica Bridger marvels at the tallest dam in Europe, which was constructed in the 1950s and supplies about 20 per cent of Switzerland’s stored energy.
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Duration:00:06:52
What relationship does South Korea have with public art? Plus: Dubai Design Week and Riba president Chris Williamson.
11/20/2025
We speak to South Korean artist Jinjoon Lee about how his country interacts with public art, Inzamam Rashid visits an acclaimed installation from Dubai Design Week and we meet new Riba president Chris Williamson.
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Duration:00:29:14
Tall Stories 485: Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Natural Sciences
11/17/2025
Petri Burtsoff takes us to a first-of-its-kind wooden educational building in the Finnish capital.
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Duration:00:05:37
Planning the cities of the future at the Smart City Expo World Congress
11/13/2025
We visit the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona to talk shop with the mayor of Kuala Lumpur, an acclaimed futurist, a transportation official from Los Angeles and the event’s director.
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Duration:00:29:04
Tall Stories 484: Marin County Civic Center, San Rafael
11/10/2025
Ivan Carvalho chronicles the story of Frank Lloyd Wright’s largest public project, the final commission in his impressive body of work.
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Duration:00:04:33
Liz Diller on how the High Line continues to evolve in New York
11/6/2025
We speak to Liz Diller – the mind behind New York’s High Line – visit Bratislava’s first dedicated centre for architecture and urbanism, and assess how Canada is dealing with urban growing pains.
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Duration:00:30:19
Tall Stories 483: Abou Elie – where Beirut's history, politics and nightlife converge
11/3/2025
Noor Amylia Hilda takes us to a much-loved pub founded by a former member of the Lebanese Communist Party.
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Duration:00:05:25
Unpacking the secrets of city making at Turin’s Utopian Hours
10/30/2025
Monocle’s man in Milan, Ed Stocker, decamps to Turin to bring us a collection of conversations from Utopian Hours, the festival dedicated to city making.
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Duration:00:34:07
IPUT special: a tour of Wilton Park and how it’s transforming Dublin
10/29/2025
We explore Wilton Park, a stunning 600,000 sq ft development by IPUT, Dublin’s leading property-investment company. Chief executive Niall Gaffney gives us a tour and talks about quality of life in urban settings.
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Duration:00:33:51
Tall Stories 482: The Watergate Complex, Washington
10/27/2025
Charlotte McDonald-Gibson uncovers the modern story behind the US capital’s most infamous building.
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Duration:00:06:34
Olafur Eliasson and how public art changes your perspective on a city
10/23/2025
What role does public art play in how we engage with our cities? This week we meet acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson and explore the Sculpture in the City programme in the City of London.
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Duration:00:33:47
Tall Stories 481: Hengermalom, Budapest
10/20/2025
Alexei Korolyov takes us to the former site of one of Budapest’s largest flour mills, which has been reborn as a lively cultural hub.
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Duration:00:07:27
Treating the US nursing shortage with good design
10/16/2025
We discover how good design can help the nursing shortage in the United States, learn about Helsinki’s annual herring market and hear how Norway is developing urban robot farming.
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Duration:00:27:19
Tall Stories 480: Johannesburg City Library
10/13/2025
Elna Schütz finds a peaceful stopping-off point amid the urban hustle and bustle at the city library of South Africa’s busiest metropolis.
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Duration:00:04:13
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Duration:00:31:51