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.
Gendel Gento takes us to the last surviving example of Japan’s “Five Great Prisons” built during the Meiji era, which has recently undergone a transformation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
08/06/2026 • 05:22
Carlota Rebelo reports from the Urban Land Institute’s 2026 Europe Conference in Berlin, where we hear the most interesting voices in the real estate sector assess the challenges facing our cities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
04/06/2026 • 30:43
Sophie Monaghan-Coombs learns about Undercroft Skate Space, a venue that has been central to the London skateboarding scene over the past half century.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
01/06/2026 • 04:58
We learn how one strategist is exporting Swedish fika values to help put city planners on the same page. We also hear about Hungary’s push to revive its urban green commons and how Turku Cathedral locks its doors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
28/05/2026 • 30:23
Stefan Dubowski takes us to the beaches of Taiwan’s Wanli district to see a largely abandoned collection of futuristic abodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
25/05/2026 • 06:30
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
21/05/2026 • 30:49
Julia Kim rides the Hokusai Special Train – a new journey aimed at foreign tourists to take in breathtaking views of Mt Fuji.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
18/05/2026 • 04:55
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
14/05/2026 • 29:17
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/05/2026 • 30:00
Geetanjali Krishna explores Jaipur’s ‘katlas’ – traditional enclosed market spaces that continue to thrive despite the city’s growing number of shopping malls.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11/05/2026 • 06:02
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
07/05/2026 • 30:15
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
04/05/2026 • 04:38
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
30/04/2026 • 27:12
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
27/04/2026 • 06:44
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
23/04/2026 • 29:40
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
20/04/2026 • 05:52
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
16/04/2026 • 30:54
Camille Rodríguez Montilla investigates the dark history and hopeful future of Caracas’s mall-turned-political-prison – El Helicoide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
13/04/2026 • 06:10
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? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
09/04/2026 • 37:20
Petri Burtsoff takes us to Sajos, in Finland’s northern Lapland, a centre for culture and administration in the Sámi community.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
06/04/2026 • 05:32
Guy de Launey reports from Urban Future, a Better Cities event taking place this year in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
02/04/2026 • 29:38
Gregory Scruggs tells the odd tale of the energy-sapping totem that is Santo Domingo’s Columbus Lighthouse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
30/03/2026 • 07:01
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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
26/03/2026 • 30:05
Clarissa Wei climbs Taiwan’s best-known tower to investigate the clever engineering that keeps it in the sky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
23/03/2026 • 06:35
We reflect on Mipim conversations with the executive director of UN Habitat, as well as representatives from the New York City Housing Authority, Miami-Dade Beacon Council and ING Media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
19/03/2026 • 29:54
Andrew Tuck goes searching for the remains of the home of a 1930s Hollywood star in Mallorca’s Bay of Palma.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
16/03/2026 • 05:34
We report from the world’s leading real estate event, Mipim. Here we meet mayors from Turku to Genoa and Lisbon to Rome who are putting their city’s best foot forward to drive investment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/03/2026 • 44:39
Tomas Pinheiro takes us to Tiong Bahru Estate to see how Singapore is able to succeed at the 15 minute city model within just one urban development.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
09/03/2026 • 06:37
We visit Oslo to see the New Government Quarter, which has transformed the site of the city’s 2011 terrorist attacks into an open, civic space. Then: we explore the new Louise Tower on Brussels’s iconic Avenue Louise.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
05/03/2026 • 31:11
Paul Logothetis takes us to a hotel in Manhattan that has been transforming since its construction in the 1960s.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
02/03/2026 • 06:22
