Monocle's correspondents on how cities get built and governed.
The Urbanist is Monocle's programme about cities, presented by Andrew Tuck. Its range runs from rent policy in New York under Zohran Mamdani to timber detailing in Oslo's new government quarter and a 100-storey residential tower in Toronto.
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The Urbanist is Monocle's programme about cities, presented by Andrew Tuck and produced and edited by David Stevens. Its subject is the built environment in the widest sense: rent rules, bus fares and planning permits count as much as towers. The episode on Zohran Mamdani's first 100 days as mayor of New York sets out a real tension in his housing plans, where protecting tenants who already have homes may slow new apartments reaching the market. The same episode turns to free buses and easier small-business loans. Through Mazin Sidhamed of Documented, it also asks how immigrant New Yorkers have received the change at City Hall. After the loan terms, a guest describes an ideal bodega order. The humour here is small and dry. Place matters. Carlotta Ribello walks Oslo's new government quarter a few weeks before ministers moved in. The 125,000 square metre site stands on the ground of the 22 July attack, and its design team scanned the surrounding forest for local birch and reworked older carved and painted patterns. That episode then crosses to Brussels and the 1966 Louise Tower, in a city where a guest puts empty office space at about one million square metres. In Ljubljana, Guy Delorny covers the Urban Future event in his hometown. His speakers discuss tactical urbanism passing from activists to city authorities and the decline of British high streets, and Sabina Mihailescu of Dear Neighbor explains her work bringing neighbours to the same table. A speaker from Reykjavik argues that a city has to explain why it is changing a street. Toronto gets an episode of its own, taking in the Pinnacle Sky Tower, the first 100-storey residential building in North America, and Frank Darling, who designed hundreds of banks and faculty buildings at the University of Toronto. Les Klein describes a development shaped with Indigenous communities and the lesson, for architects, of not leading the process. Tatiana Bilbao argues that the house repeated around the world answers to industry rather than to its occupants, then describes units that expand and contract around shared kitchens and laundries. Melbourne's Metro Tunnel, a new north-south line with five stations, shares her episode. Elsewhere there is public art in Seongnam, a courtyard of concrete blocks, plywood and woven palm fronds that won the Urban Commissions competition at Dubai Design Week, and Chris Williamson, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Recent titles stretch to the City Rail Link in Auckland, Kuwait City's overlooked objects and Thomas Heatherwick on generosity in urban design. The list also includes a numbered strand named Tall Stories and titles badged Studio by IPUT and Livex Abu Dhabi. For policy, the New York episode is the place to start; for buildings, Toronto. Either way, the register stays measured.
Made for: Suits a listener who sees housing, transport and architecture as connected questions and likes hearing architects and city figures explain their work, from rent boards to timber detailing.
What sets it apart: Its reporting is anchored in named places: a government quarter in Oslo, a convention centre in Ljubljana, a tower in Toronto. Within a single episode it gives municipal policy and the craft of building equal standing.
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.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · October 2026
The Urbanist hears architecture through the people who build and govern cities, from Oslo's civic quarter to Tatiana Bilbao's expandable housing.
The Urbanist, presented by Andrew Tuck, sends Monocle reporters to stand inside the places it discusses. Carlotta Ribello walks Oslo's new government quarter a few weeks before ministers moved in, and Guy Delorny covers the Urban Future event in his hometown of Ljubljana.
Like a city tour where the guide cares about the Rent Guidelines Board as much as the skyline.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A sharp early report card on Mamdani's City Hall, alive to both New York promise and New York constraint.
The Urbanist turns Zohran Mamdani's first 100 days into a brisk audit of civic promises: affordability, small business support, free buses and protection for immigrant New Yorkers.
Ljubljana's Urban Future gathering turns city-making into lively cultural criticism, with tactical urbanism, circularity and branding kept close to the street.
Ljubljana makes a neat, slightly unruly host for The Urbanist's visit to the Urban Future Better Cities event. The episode treats the compact Slovenian capital as a working example, moving from shared spaces and repurposed factories to traffic, shopping centres and pockets of…
A measured look at architecture as repair work, security planning and urban reuse.
Oslo's new government quarter gives The Urbanist a charged civic brief: how to return government offices to the site of a terrorist attack while keeping the city open, usable and alert to memory.
A brisk Toronto architecture tour linking supertall ambition, Edwardian memory and Indigenous place-making.
Toronto's building boom comes through as a problem of scale, taste and memory. The episode looks up at Pinnacle Sky Tower, newly past 100 storeys, then keeps one eye on the older city: small heritage buildings pressed into service as podiums, Frank Darling's lasting imprint on…
A thoughtful Dubai dispatch on cities, risk, and the uneasy art of planning for a future that keeps moving.
The Urbanist reports from the World Governments Summit in Dubai with an eye on how cities are planned when change refuses to wait politely. Andrew Tuck frames Dubai as a useful test case for rapid urban transformation, then lets the sharpest idea come through in a conversation…
A thoughtful Urbanist episode on flexible housing, public care and Melbourne's changing transport map.
The Urbanist pairs Tatiana Bilbao's argument for more adaptable housing with a look at Melbourne's newly opened Metro Tunnel. Bilbao is the stronger presence here, pushing against standardized domestic space and describing rooms that can expand or contract, kitchens that become…
A brisk, tactile look at public art, courtyards and architecture as everyday civic space.
The Urbanist follows public art through a tidy, city-minded circuit: a South Korean artist discussing a recent Seongnam installation, then a longer stop at Dubai Design Week, before closing with RIBA president Chris Williamson. The Dubai section has the clearest texture.
Apple decisions, examined down to the window corner.
Weekly film, music, and arts criticism from Monocle 24's Midori House studio in London.
The engineering decisions behind code, agents, and control.
Andrew Tuck's Urbanist episode examines thermal comfort in hot cities through three guests, starting with HKS's Federica Barico, who says trees can cut temperatures by "between four and six degrees." Farid Eshmael of X Architects traces how Gulf cities moved from shaded courtyards and narrow alleyways to car-based suburban villas cooled by AC after the discovery of oil.
New York is still in tryout mode.
This episode explores how the Sámi Cultural Centre in Finland's Lapland serves as both a parliament hall and cultural hub for Europe's last remaining indigenous community, the Sámi people.
Ljubljana becomes the frame.
This episode explores the bizarre origin story of the Columbus Lighthouse in the Dominican Republic, built to mark the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage, examining its controversial legacy amid changing perceptions of colonialism.
This episode explores how Apple's real estate portfolio, including retail stores and offices, influences urban communities and city development through strategic location choices and design.
This episode explores the structural design and engineering of Taipei 101, focusing on how its bamboo-inspired architecture helps it withstand forces like earthquakes and typhoons.
This episode covers the global housing crisis and urban development trends from the MIPIM real estate conference.
This episode of Tall Stories explores the story of a long-lost Mallorcan house called El Molli, once owned by Hollywood star Errol Flynn.
This episode covers discussions with mayors and deputies at MIPIM about challenges and opportunities in European urban development and real estate.
This episode explores the Tiong Bahru estate in Singapore as an early example of mixed-use public housing and the 15-minute city concept.
Oslo gives the episode its conscience.
This episode explores the history of the Maritime Hotel in Manhattan, originally built as a dormitory for visiting sailors during New York's maritime boom.
This episode explores urban transformation in Malaga and features an interview with Arup's CEO about designing cities.
This episode tells the story of the Maracaibo Metro in Venezuela, highlighting its limited coverage and the local nickname it received due to corruption and funding issues.
Toronto is looking upward.
A preview of the restored Villa Baer, a key work of Viennese modernism by Joseph Frank, opening to the public after a five-year restoration.
This episode explores how Santo Domingo's historic old town balances the needs of residents and tourists while addressing challenges of living in a commercial and touristic area.
Dubai supplies the frame.
A unit can shrink.
A whirlwind tour of urban stories from around the world, featuring interviews with city leaders and reports on green initiatives and urban events.
This episode explores how well-designed healthcare facilities can integrate into urban life and serve communities beyond medical treatment.
This episode discusses a new book that rethinks architecture in the context of climate crisis, politics, and social justice.
This episode covers the MIPIM Asia real estate summit in Hong Kong, discussing trends, challenges, and opportunities in APAC real estate.
This episode examines how office spaces and workforce preferences are evolving post-pandemic, based on JLL's 2025 barometer, and explores military training challenges in urban environments.
A courtyard steals the show.
This episode covers the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, featuring interviews with leaders on urban innovation and technology.
This episode explores urban design and architecture, featuring an interview with Liz Diller of the Highline, a visit to Bratislava's architecture centre, and a look at Canada's urban growth challenges.
This episode covers discussions from the Utopian Hours festival on creative interventions for city making, including micro-utopias in Kenya and a floating pool in New York City.
This episode explores Wilton Park, a large office development in Dublin that emphasizes placemaking and quality of life.
This episode explores how public art and design can transform urban spaces, featuring artist Olafur Eliasson and a sculpture exhibition in London.
This episode explores how good architectural and urban design can help address the nursing shortage in the United States by creating better healthcare facilities that support well-being and training.
This episode explores how mayors can learn from each other to tackle urban challenges, featuring a new leadership program and UN Habitat's housing call.
This episode explores how cities can learn from nature, featuring a designer who advocates for biomimicry in urban planning and a visit to a renovated art gallery in Australia that demonstrates harmonious interaction with the natural world.
This episode explores how cities manage large crowds during events, human-centric design in architecture, and the international tram driver championship.
This episode covers the World Design Congress in London, featuring interviews with Lord Norman Foster on human-centric design and Julia Watson on indigenous architecture, plus a visit to Seattle's new waterfront park.