You can use our mews as a cut through if you are on foot or a bicycle but a strategically placed bollard means that cars can’t. So, apart from the occasional van dropping off a delivery, it’s mostly car-free and echoes with a shifting tide of voices – young children being dropped off at the nearby primary school in the morning, a tipsy drinker from the neighbouring pub making an apologetic call home at 23.00. I love it all. This is life in the centre of the city. Though, it’s a little irksome when someone sits on my doorstep to smoke a spliff. Well, they never offer to share.

On Saturday afternoon my neighbour Frank spotted me and laughed at my appearance (an increasingly common occurrence these days). My hands were covered with soil and I had managed to smear compost across my face. On someone younger this might have been a bit of a marine-on-exercises look but, dressed as I was in an outfit of old, clashing gym gear, it was more Dad’s Army. “Shall I take a picture?” he asked. “I see all those nice ones of you on Instagram but I could show people the real Monocle editor in chief.”

My fetching appearance was the result of a day spent tending to the pots of plants that pack out the front of our house – and the three neighbouring ones that I had been given permission (I think) to help colonise. It’s the point in the year when irises are closing down their show and the agapanthuses are about to take to the stage. There’s also oleander, silver birches, grasses and lavender. As I moved things around and repotted shrubs that had outgrown their digs, a female blackbird would dart down to see if I had perhaps dislodged a snail. It’s not perfect by any means but people stop to smell a flower and run a hand over the leaves.

We’ve been running a series of talks at The Ned in the City of London thanks to a nice man there called Victor. On Monday he invited us – Josh, Carlota, Lex and me – to talk about our forthcoming Quality of Life Survey. The categories are pleasingly shaken up this year (just wait until you see our July/August double issue. And, hey, why not subscribe?). The audience had great questions, we talked about trust and about how a fear of crime risks curtailing your freedoms (in London you’d be a fool for taking your phone out on the street without first checking for muggers on e-bikes). And, I explained how, for me, some of this was eased into the background by focusing on the small acts of urban generosity that happen in a city such as London every day – the shopkeeper who puts out a bowl of water for a parched pooch or a bench for seniors keen to pause. Or people placing plants outside their homes. Tiny interventions that can, sometimes, humanise the city. Make you see that most people are good.

A short digression – we’ll be back on the main path in seconds, promise. I was recently interviewing a candidate for a role at Monocle and asked them to explain how their title was produced. They told me about their policy of “publish, then polish” – in short, whack copy up on the website and try to tidy it up in the days that followed. Then they said, “Do you think anyone cares about how things look these days?” Although my neighbour Frank might have some disquieting photographic evidence to the contrary, I do care, actually, and I do think that we all respond to moments of considered beauty.
 
And now here comes the bit where we can tie this column together and I can let you get on with your day.

For Thursday’s outing of our cities podcast The Urbanist, I interviewed David Godshall at the Californian landscape architecture firm Terremoto. The company makes amazing public spaces, including in Denver where it has engineered a piece of rewilding in the heart of downtown (you can also read an interview with Godshall here). It’s work that is underpinned by deep thinking and a radical manifesto for change in the landscape industry. But Terremoto is also a group of people who know that, yes, we respond to beauty, that plants have the power to transform our cities. And that communities, citizens and workers need to be pulled into this story. And blackbirds too.

PS If you care about cities, about doing things differently, come to this year’s Quality of Life Conference. It’s in Barcelona from 4 to 6 September. And I promise to put on my nice clothes.

Louis Vuitton’s ice-cream kiosk, Forte dei Marmi
The arrival of the summer has been marked by the opening of Louis Vuitton’s first seasonal gelateria in Forte dei Marmi, Italy. Located across from the boutique, mere steps from the sea, the kiosk’s vintage green tones – an iconic colour of the resort town – are complemented by the French maison’s signature Monogram flowers.

Every detail has been carefully considered: cups, containers, napkins and wafers carry a pattern exclusive to the pop-up. Vivienne, Louis Vuitton’s cheeky mascot, welcomes visitors in need of a cool treat. Ten flavours, made by beloved local gelateria Galliano, are on offer, as well as two Louis Vuitton-inspired creations: a Portuguese milk gelato swirled with mandarin and a take on the traditional Tuscan zuccotto with sponge cake, caramel crunch and dark chocolate chips.   
Open until September, you can find the kiosk at 2 Via G. Carducci, Forte dei Marmi  

Informale pop-up, London
Menswear label Informale has brought Neapolitan flair to its home city of Melbourne – and is now paying a fleeting visit to the UK. After working for luxury labels such as Zegna and Gucci, Steve Calder, the brand’s co-founder and creative director, decided to introduce a more relaxed approach to suiting, which chimes with the country’s sunny lifestyle. Informale’s core collection includes shirts, utility vests, knitwear and high-waisted tailored trousers that capture the smart-yet-breezy look that Australians do best. If you’re in London next week, swing by the Richard Gelding shop in Mayfair for an Informale pop-up, which runs from 12 to 14 June. Be sure to give yourself some extra time – Calder will be on hand to provide exclusive in-store styling sessions. 
27 North Audley Street, W1K 6WU

House of Prose, Dubai
Tucked into the ground floor of the Times Square Center, just off Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, House of Prose holds a special place in the city’s cultural landscape. First opened in the early 1990s, it’s the UAE’s oldest second-hand bookshop and has recently emerged from a thoughtful refit that’s brought fresh energy without sacrificing charm. A growing selection of design, fashion and architecture titles sits alongside the latest fiction. There’s also a newsstand dedicated to independent titles with a focus on regional magazines. “More people are consciously choosing local shops over online giants here in Dubai,” says founder Pouria Dehghani. Small, analogue and intimate – it’s a place where you come to browse, discover and leave with something unexpected.
House of Prose, Times Square Center, Lower Ground Floor, Dubai

Could the humble handset phone be about to stage a comeback (asks James Chambers)? Native Union certainly thinks so. The technology accessories brand, best known for its cables and chargers available in Apple shops, wants to revive the lost art of telephone conversation by bringing back its debut product, the iconic pop phone. Technology companies rarely invest in heavier, bulkier products but there is something to be said for tucking your phone comfortably between ear and shoulder while reclining in your chair.

The wired handset that connects to a smartphone was launched 15 years ago during the peak of the Blackberry-era and it sold three million units in two years before being rendered obsolete by cheap copycats. “We have made a few tweaks to modernise it but overall it’s the same product as before,” says CEO and co-founder Igor Duc from his home in Hong Kong. The biggest change is that the first version allowed users to look at their screens while taking a call. Version two, however, encourages callers to put their phones down, remove their in-ear headphones and concentrate on the voice at the other end of the line. “This is not meant to be a gadget,” says Duc, who is motivated by the desire to reduce his own screen time. “We want people to feel like they’re on the phone.” Good call.

To read a longer interview with Igor Duc, click here. 

Keen on summer days enjoying alfresco music but put off by the idea of muddy campsites (asks Sophie Monaghan-Coombs)? Here are three alternative music festivals where the setting takes centre stage.

Við Djúpið, Iceland
The landscape of Iceland’s Westfjords region makes a dramatic backdrop for this intimate celebration of classical chamber music. The relaxed programme includes lunchtime and evening performances, with plenty of space for excursions to the nearby mountains and waterfalls, as well as the opportunity to join the impressive line-up of international musicians for post-concert drinks. 
Við Djúpið runs from 17 to 21 June;
viddjupid.is

TSF Jazz Chantilly Festival, France  
This contemporary jazz festival will host some 5,000 people in the 19th-century Château de Chantilly. Despite only being in its second year, the fledgling event has attracted some of the biggest names in the genre, including celebrated saxophonist Kamasi Washington and jazz singer Samara Joy.
TSF Jazz Chantilly Festival runs from 5 to 6 July; tsfjazzchantillyfestival.com 
 
Ypsigrock, Sicily 
A hidden gem, Ypsigrock has been running in the medieval town of Castelbuono for almost 30 years. The town square and the castle backdrop set the stage for an eclectic mix of Italian and international acts. This year’s highlights include UK band Porridge Radio and Belgian singer Sylvie Kreusch. 
Ypsigrock runs from 7 to 10 August;
ypsigrock.it 

For more music industry insights, including how to start your own festival and how to make vinyl pay, click here.