Like many American cities, West Palm Beach is facing challenges of rapid growth, inequality, and environmental discomfort. But urban design can be part of the solution. Our research has found that certain places have the power to improve human feelings and behavior. So we were thrilled to win the research competition for Shore to Core, a research competition led by Van Alen Institute and the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. The… Continue reading
Charles Montgomery’s critically acclaimed book, Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design was published in Taiwan in November, 2016. The news is exciting for Taiwanese cities, but also for the region as a whole. Asian cities struggle with choking traffic, intrusive mega-projects and seemingly-uncontrollable sprawl. But the evidence in Happy City demonstrates that cities can achieve sustainable growth at the same time as boosting health and happiness. This version… Continue reading
The Happy City team hosted an inspiring one-night studio to create sociability-boosting tools for multi-family house design. Sponsored by BC Housing and led by Happy City associate Patricia Rios, the Happy Housing Design Studio invited a roomful of multi-talented planners, designers, developers and also a few wildcards. The fun began when we added markers, tracing paper, snacks, and beverages courtesy of Faculty Brewing. This enthusiastic squad of interdisciplinary super-heroes turned evidence into actions and visual tools to change how housing is designed in the near future.
Preliminary findings will be shared on December 8 at CONNECT-Catalyzing a Social Movement forum by the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Coastal Health at the Museum of Vancouver. The Happy Housing Toolkit and report will be released in March 2017.
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Around the world, city streets are being transformed into better places to walk, socialize and celebrate. People are trading dead street edges and dangerous asphalt for vibrant sidewalks, parklets and plazas that are expressions of new ideas about human happiness. But how do these changes influence the way we feel and treat other people? If we want to keep these wonderful spaces, we need evidence about how these interventions influence… Continue reading
"The Happy Cities Experiment" – Omar Dominguez from Regent College on Vimeo. Omar Dominguez, Happy City’s Director of Operations and Sustainability, shared our ideas on the Happy City experiment in an engaging talk at Regent College. This talk was part of the first-ever Q Commons event in Vancouver, and was held on September 24, 2015. Q Commons, an event organized by Q Ideas based in New York City, convenes local leaders… Continue reading
Is free transit a good thing? Our own 'self-described transit nerd' @HoussamElokda breaks down why that question is… https://t.co/cgMK8mqTnB, This idea brings it all together: inclusion, affordability, climate action and making cities work better. What do y… https://t.co/AV17N9yNlo, It’s deeply unfair to make decisions based on the input of people who can make it to City Hall on a Thursday at 5pm… https://t.co/lUulRa1YAh, 
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