A number of people emailed me this past weekend saying that they appreciated the recent book recommendation — something to read over the holidays. So here’s another one: Metropolis — A History of the City, Humankind’s Greatest Invention. Right now is probably the ideal time… Read More
Love them or hate them (I happen to love them), Toronto’s streetcars are part of this city’s identity. Most North American cities got rid of their streetcars around the middle of the 20th century. But Toronto didn’t. And that has left us with the largest… Read More
Today, Monocle announced a new “City Series,” which will take the form of a focused half-day summit. The objective is to explore the urban issues facing mayors, developers, investors, and citizens. The first summit will take place this November 4 (2019) in Chengdu — the… Read More
Click here for a short video (by Monocle) about Tokyo’s nascent “kitchen car”, or food truck, scene. (The soundtrack is fun.) Historically, street food stands, or “yatai,” have had a questionable reputation in Japan. They proliferated across the country following World War II when times… Read More
São Paulo, and Brazil more broadly, are near the top of my list of places that I want to visit. Starting in the 1930s, Brazil became an early adopter of modern architecture with projects like the Ministry of Education and Health Building. It was one… Read More
I’m on a flight right now reading the latest issue of Monocle Magazine in a seat that barely accommodates the length of my femur. This month’s issue has their annual ranking of the top 25 cities in the world. Munich is first, which is not… Read More
Monocle has a new guidebook out that is dedicated to hotels, inns, and hideaways. It also has a particular emphasis on the “honest, charming, quirky and independent.” So forget the conventional 5-star hotels. Hotels are fascinating places, even in today’s world of Airbnb. If you’re planning… Read More
I just spent the last 7 minutes listening to this brief historical overview of Seoul by The Urbanist, while I bounced around the city on Google Street View, admiring the coverage of their transit network and the density of their low-rise neighborhoods. I love Street View and… Read More
Phaidon has a new architectural book out that surveys 55 homes, all of which have some sort of connection to water, whether that be an ocean, lake, river, or pool. It’s called Living on Water. I don’t (yet) have a copy, but it looks like… Read More
I couldn’t sleep last night, so I got up and pulled out an old issue of Monocle magazine from my nightstand. I then stumbled upon the following article by Taras Grescoe. What really stood out for me was this line: “Thickets of haphazardly planned condo… Read More
BRANDON DONNELLY 