Monocle 24: The Urbanist

This week Monocle’s Chiara Rimella bares all and explains to us how an Alvar Aalto-inspired sauna convinced her to dive headfirst into Helsinki’s culture.

How do we relate to a city? This week we look at the different ways we engage with our urban environments, be it through green spaces, by sharing a book or two or even being on the water.

We visit a city known for its natural light to explore the history behind the urban fixture responsible for illuminating it in the evenings.

It’s a bit of a correspondents special: from New York to Hong Kong, Zürich and a splash of Brazil too.

Monocle’s Business editor Matt Alagiah takes us to the west of Hamburg’s city centre to visit an urban beach perched on the north bank of the Elbe River.

We joined the Academy of Urbanism’s 2017 Congress to report from Denmark’s second city of Aarhus, on everything from its waterfront development to participatory urbanism and lessons for other cities. Plus: a special interview with Jan Gehl.

Moscow's City Day took place earlier this month, as the Russian capital celebrated its 870th anniversary – and city hall made use of a good opportunity to impress.

We speak to the co-author of ‘The Public Wealth of Cities’ to find out about boosting prosperity in our urban centres. Plus: we head to East London to discover a rooftop dwelling disguised as a warehouse air duct.

Above the hustle and bustle of London’s city life you’ll find a little toll house, which back in the 1700s marked the entrance to the Bishop of London’s estate. We profile these little bastions of resistance.

When Hurricane Harvey struck Houston, no one could have predicted the level of destruction it caused. As floodwaters retreat and rubble is lifted, we shine the spotlight on this city and the way urban areas can start to heal after the grieving is done.

We visit the Luma Arles creative-arts hub. Made up of former railway warehouses, the site will soon welcome a new architectural feature – a 56-metre tall tower designed by architect Frank Gehry. We check out the view.

On what side of the law does your city stand? There are still a few fugitives around, allowing what many other metropolises banned a long time ago: from public nudity to smoking indoors and even a little afternoon dip to cool off – in public that is.

London boasts almost 20 outdoor swimming pools, mostly built around the 1930s. This week we hear the story of London’s famed lidos.

The sea conquers the land: we hear how politics around the Suez Canal has propelled Egypt to the world stage, how Vienna solved its flood problem with the help of engineering and examine the heritage of fascism along the Adriatic coast.

In the Austrian capital buildings don’t just have addresses but names too – but do you ever hear people use them? This week we examine the great tradition of the Viennese house name.