What we do

The image displays a stylized graphic of a person riding a bicycle in an urban environment. The rider has a baguette and what looks like leaves of corn in the basket. There are simplistic representations of buildings in the background with trees.

Planning

The image shows a colourful illustration with two adults sitting at a bench—one holding a flower, the other reaching out—while two children play with geometric shapes. It suggests a community or family setting, focused on interaction and play.

Design

The image portrays a cross-section of a house with solar panels on the roof, indicating a focus on sustainability. Inside, we see various individuals engaged in different activities: a family with a child, and a woman tending to plants.

Housing

The image shows two people seated at an outdoor table under a striped awning, engaged in conversation, indicated by speech bubbles. One person is in a wheelchair, suggesting an inclusive setting. The graphic has a simple and clean design.

Engagement

Turning evidence into action

Happy Cities is an urban planning, research, and engagement firm based in Vancouver and Halifax. We work with cities, developers, and non-profits around the world to design public spaces, streets, and housing that nurture wellbeing for all community members.

Featured
Our Urban Village Cohousing
Our Urban Village Cohousing

An cohousing project offers a promising, missing middle solution to Vancouver’s housing and social isolation crises.

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North Vancouver active design study
North Vancouver active design study

Happy Cities, Hey Neighbour Collective, and SFU evaluated the impact of the City of North Vancouver’s Active Design Guidelines, uncovering valuable insights for promoting social connection in multi-unit housing.

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Power of placemaking research and engagement
Power of placemaking research and engagement

Exploring the role that placemaking plays in supporting community wellbeing, with the Healthy Communities Initiative and Canadian Urban Institute.

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Regina accessibility plan
Regina accessibility plan

Happy Cities and Meaningful Access Consulting worked with the City of Regina to create an Accessibility Plan, to ensure that everyone can participate fully in community life.

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"Happy Cities was a dream to work with. The quality of research, analysis, written submissions and field work was consistently high. A true partner in our ambitious active transportation pursuits!"

Lisa Leblanc, Director of Engineering, City of New Westminster

Featured stories

Stories
Introducing: A free tool to study public life
Placemaking, Resources
Introducing: A free tool to study public life
Placemaking, Resources

Happy Cities’ award-winning Public Life Study can help you measure the impact of public space transformations on community connections, trust, and inclusion.

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Placemaking, Resources
How placemaking positively impacts our health
Placemaking
How placemaking positively impacts our health
Placemaking

How shared spaces can support physical and mental health for people of all ages.

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Placemaking
Alienation is a losing game: What urbanists can learn from the haters
Community engagement
Alienation is a losing game: What urbanists can learn from the haters
Community engagement

To change peoples’ minds, we have to make an effort first to listen.

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Community engagement
The happier missing middle: Lessons for building an urban cohousing village
Community housing, Research
The happier missing middle: Lessons for building an urban cohousing village
Community housing, Research

A Q&A with the project team behind Our Urban Village on the benefits and challenges of cohousing, including financial commitments, development approvals, expanding impact, and learning to live in community.

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Community housing, Research
New housing rules in BC: How can denser neighbourhoods support wellbeing?
Research
New housing rules in BC: How can denser neighbourhoods support wellbeing?
Research

Three ways to ensure that new development contributes to happier, healthier, more inclusive cities.

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Research
Why are great streets so hard to build?
Street design
Why are great streets so hard to build?
Street design

To make every street wonderful, add it to people’s job descriptions.

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Street design

We’ve built trust with clients around the world

Colour photograph of the Happy Cities book on a table.

Read the book that started it all

Explore the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness, with stops in some of the world’s most dynamic cities.