How do we make better cities – places that work for people of all ages and backgrounds? How do we make cities that provide the obvious essentials – great transport, good places to work – as well as the softer elements that truly deliver quality of life, from urban swimming pools to rooftop clubs?

Since its launch in 2007, Monocle has been passionate about making better places to live. Every year it publishes a Quality of Life Survey, which names the top 25 cities to call home. In addition, across the issues, it has interviewed the best mayors, looked at the metropolises putting pedestrians first and met the people creating the best parks, both pocket and grand. Discover how you too can have a High Line, create the most covetable housing or turn a dirty river into a summer asset. Packed with great images and intriguing reports, this is a book that takes the urbanism debate away from city hall and explains what’s needed in ways that will inspire us all.