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The Monitor Network

City Monitor is dedicated to the future of the world’s cities. Our mission is to help our readers navigate how cities are changing and discover what’s next in the world of urban policy. Subjects we cover include transportation, infrastructure, housing, urban design, public safety, climate change, the economy and more.

City Monitor is part of New Statesman Media Group’s network of industry-leading specialist titles, including Capital Monitor and Tech Monitor.

The Monitor Network’s mission is to explain how the world is changing for decision makers in need of data-driven answers. We help our readers to lead effectively and define policies using the same rigour and quality journalism the New Statesman has long been admired for.

Editorial standards

City Monitor journalists uphold the highest standards of ethical and professional journalism. In our editorial coverage, we seek to be independent, fair and accurate. We make every effort to verify and check the information we publish and to be transparent about our sourcing.

If you spot a mistake or would like to make a complaint about our coverage, please contact editorial@citymonitor.ai.

City Monitor journalists are required to follow the standards laid out in the UK  Editors’ Code of Practice and also strictly adhere to UK law in areas such as libel, privacy and copyright. If you think our content has breached the Editors’ Code, you can raise this with our external ombudsman, David Banks, by emailing ombudsman@ns-mediagroup.com – but please do so only after trying to resolve the issue with our editors.

He will investigate all legitimate complaints and write adjudications that will be published on this site and given equal prominence to the article in question if your complaint is upheld.

Banks is a former co-author of MacNae’s Essential Law for Journalists, the standard textbook on UK media law, and has acted as an adviser to the UK’s Ministry of Justice. He will adjudicate on complaints by making reference to the Editors’ Code of Practice.

How to pitch City Monitor

Much of City Monitor‘s journalism is produced by our full-time staff, but we also publish occasional pieces from outside contributors. Before you send us a pitch, please read our guidelines:

What types of pitches are you looking for?

City Monitor publishes original articles reported and written by journalists as well as commentary written by practitioners in the fields we cover: urban policy, planning, transportation and the environment. We’re interested in stories that will appeal to an international audience of city leaders.

Most of all, we are looking for great writing that explains and analyses the challenges facing cities today – ranging from income inequality and the climate crisis to housing affordability and the lack of equitable public transportation. We’d like to hear about ideas, policies and solutions that address those challenges, and we seek contributors committed to the extensive reporting required to explore these complex issues.

Opinion pieces should be original, provocative, previously unpublished works that are relevant to professionals who are shaping the future of cities. We are also interested in interviews with forward-thinking practitioners, thinkers and policymakers.

City Monitor aims to highlight a diverse array of voices, backgrounds and perspectives. Our audience is global, and we welcome contributors from far and wide.

How long are your articles, and do you pay for them?

Our articles typically run between 750 and 2,000 words. We do pay our outside contributors, and our rates are competitive with other digital publications.

What aren’t you looking for?

We’re looking for specific story pitches, not topic ideas. (“I’d like to write about parks” is not a pitch, while “I’d like to write about how a new urban park in the US is being designed to put equity and inclusion at the centre” is). Nor are we interested in self-promotion, product pitches, events, services or company profiles. We don’t run pieces about arguments on Twitter or responses to other articles.

What should I send?

Please send a short pitch, describing your piece in no more than three paragraphs, to editorial@citymonitor.ai.

Explain what makes the piece you propose compelling and timely, what your expertise is for writing about the subject, and include the names of secured or potential interviewees, if relevant. Suggest a headline if possible.

Any other tips?

If this is your first time pitching us, please include in your email a link or two to previous examples of your work.

Please don’t pitch us something you are also pitching elsewhere at the same time.

When will you get back to me?

We try our best to respond to pitches within 48 hours. However, we are often very busy and we get a lot of pitches, so please send a follow-up email if you don’t hear from us within four days. If you still don’t hear back, it’s best to assume that this pitch hasn’t been successful.