100 episodes

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. 

The Urbanist Monocle Radio

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 56 Ratings

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. 

    Tall Stories 406: Terminal 2, Kempegowda International Airport

    Tall Stories 406: Terminal 2, Kempegowda International Airport

    Geetanjali Krishna touches down in Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport to experience the wonders of its verdant, new 255,000 sq m terminal.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 6 min
    Who holds the power in our cities?

    Who holds the power in our cities?

    We look at democracy in urban areas and examine city planning and the impact of voter choice. How can decision making in cities become more open and inclusive? Plus: we go back to the beginning to discover how candidates secure a spot on the ballot paper.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 29 min
    Tall Stories 405: River Shannon

    Tall Stories 405: River Shannon

    Sarah Grice recalls a fishy tale about the longest river in the British Isles, the Shannon in Ireland.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 8 min
    Sustainable building materials and circular construction

    Sustainable building materials and circular construction

    As global urban development continues at pace, the need to use sustainable materials and building techniques in our cities increases. How is innovation helping the construction industry to reduce its impact on the environment? We explore some of the ideas that are hoped to make a difference.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 31 min
    Tall Stories 404: San Siro, Milan

    Tall Stories 404: San Siro, Milan

    Ivan Carvalho visits San Siro Stadium to see what is next for this storied piece of sporting infrastructure in Milan.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 5 min
    Transforming Heal’s, Dutch high-rise housing and innovation hubs

    Transforming Heal’s, Dutch high-rise housing and innovation hubs

    We explore the newly transformed spaces in the historic Heal’s department store in London, investigate the new building frontiers required to tackle the Netherlands’ housing needs and find out what makes an effective innovation hub.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 31 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
56 Ratings

56 Ratings

AbsolutBrilliance ,

Interesting topics

Really makes you think, love this podcast

Animatronic ,

Informative and engaging

This podcast keeps me motivated and keeps reminding me why I'm studying urban design.

Niktard ,

The big, bad city just got a whole lot nicer.

This is a superb podcast for anyone interested in hearing adroit, informed and completely engaged discussion about all things urban. It’s funny too. Presenter Andrew Tuck, Editor of Monocle, is clearly passionate about his subject but not pompous with it, declaring “The Urbanist is for the people who believe the countryside is best left to cattle and bugs and who find being rammed up against all humanity a good thing”. Whimsy dispensed, he quickly rolls up his city shirtsleeves and gets down to gritty business.

The first episode features three main stories. First up is Jan Gehl, Danish Architect and Urban Planner whose career has focused on improving the quality of urban life by re-orienting city design towards the pedestrian and cyclist.

Next is independent filmmaker Gary Hustwit who joins Tuck in the studio to talk about his new film Urbanised, a documentary about the design of cities in which he features the world's foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.

Finally, the programme talks to Tim Fendley, Co-Founder of Applied, a company that designs wayfinding information. Fendley’s fixation is to make sense of cities and create “eureka moments” when people work out how different parts of a city connect and that they can walk from A to B in far less time they had ever thought possible.

If the first episode is any indication, this podcast series is sure to impress again and again, subtly scratching away the often grimy and one-dimensional perceptions we have of cities and offering a far clearer looking glass to observe our rich metropolises in all their glory.

The Urbanist. The big, bad city just got a whole lot nicer.

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