The city is always evolving but change is not always synonymous with transformation. This week we explore how the urban environment has gradually altered, most of the time thanks to us – ordinary citizens. We discuss the concept of participatory placemaking, head to Toronto for a chat about designing urban transformation and stop by New York to look at some of the changes the city has gone through. Plus: we meet the real-estate firm investing in “transformational developments” in Los Angeles as it tries to save architectural relics from the 1920s.

From small businesses to citizen collectives, we discover how championing transformative change from the ground up can be the best way to alter the status quo in our cities. We see how the Ministry of Space is reclaiming public spaces in Belgrade, visit Vienna to find out how ordinary citizens are welcoming refugees and check out a collective in Rio de Janeiro that wants to reshape the politics of the city. Plus: small businesses in London’s West End and the fight against increasing rent prices.

With our first show in 2016 come a few resolutions for cities. We discover what resolutions won’t be broken in Paris, find out how our personal ones can change cities for the better and ask if 2016 is the year New York finally does something about its airports. Plus we discover Hong Kong’s foodie resolution and chat with the Mayor of Melbourne about his hopes for his city in the next 12 months.

We recap our series on urban heroes, looking at four real characters in the community who are actively working to make our cities better places. Join us as we meet a preservationist in Lisbon, a civic leader in Dallas, food activists in Istanbul and a media collective in Brazil.

We look back over the past 12 months at some of the most colourful and fascinating moments on ‘The Urbanist’. We hop on a houseboat in San Francisco, learn the craft of bell-ringing, chat with Daniel Libeskind and party with a cycling orchestra in Rio. Plus: we stroll up and down Embassy Row in Washington, get naked on Brighton’s nudist beach and chat with the mayor of Athens about the difficulties of managing his city this year.

As people head out to get last-minute gifts, we bring you a festive episode looking at how Christmas affects our cities. We visit Strasbourg’s 400-year-old market, discover how things got a bit out of hand with lightning decorations in Colombia and head to Madrid for a diplomatic Christmas fair. Plus: a lesson in festive window dressing in New York.

It’s the most dangerous species out there: the hipster. We look at how one of the most popular subcultures has become the scapegoat for the problems of a city, from gentrification to expensive cold brew. Join us as we explore the great hipster reshuffling in Vancouver, discover how London’s tech hipsters are helping the community and head to Israel to meet its “haifsters”. Plus: a lesson in hipster history, dating back to 1901 in Vienna.

From cycle messengers in Lisbon to a family-owned company that delivers Scottish Christmas trees all around London, we discover how people around the world are getting their logistics sorted and how new demands transform our cities. Plus: we wrap up our series on the battle for New York’s public spaces.