10 years of Happy City: Our readers' stories
Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design, by Charles Montgomery, first published in 2013.
In 2023, our team celebrated 10 years since the publication of Charles Montgomery’s book, Happy City. To honour this small milestone, we’re asking readers about their connections to building happier, healthier, more inclusive communities. Here are a few that we’ve received so far.
Submissions have been edited for clarity and length.
It’s not too late to submit your story! Send a short, 100- to 300-word writeup on your connection to the book, Happy City, to stories@happycities.com. We’ll compile a short selection to share on our website, and select one person who writes in their story to win a signed copy! (We’ll also throw in an official Happy Cities swag item).
John
Ontario, Canada
Near the end of my teaching career, two powerful ideas were flowing around me like parallel rivers.
First, a former student handed me a copy of Happy City. The book tumbled through my mind, pushing me to see my community in a new way. One concept that I held to be true in my classroom—that the environment transforms behaviour—also turned out to be true in my community. Happy City gave me this clarity. It also gave me a transition into retirement. My town became my classroom, and Happy City my curriculum.
At the same time as Happy City entered my life, someone said to me, “The greatest thing we can do to help the world is to get political.” Like the confluence of rivers, these two things (Happy City and the idea to “get political”) came together, moving me to create a not-for-profit advocacy and action group called Green Lanes.
After two municipal elections—where we distributed a copy of Happy City to each councillor—and numerous delegations and events, I can say we are starting to flow. Our Township now has an active transportation committee (which I’m on), and, more importantly, we now have Street Calming and Active Transportation in the budget. I continue to delegate to ask for more and to continue to push for the concepts presented in Happy City.
Ironically, my bookshelf lacks a copy of Happy City. I recently passed it on to another former student who was starting out her academic career in Urban Planning. I’m hoping the river of thoughts that Happy City unleashes creates another informed, caring—and needed—urban planner.
I hope Charles Montgomery has the opportunity to sit back along the shores and take in the beauty of what has been shaped by this book.
Leah
British Columbia, Canada
As an undergrad, I had a student job at the university’s planning department. We were hosting a series of speakers with the goal of inspiring the campus community, before launching into planning a new neighbourhood. Unknown to me at the time, one of those speakers was Charles Montgomery. Listening to his talk (while serving snacks and sopping up spilled coffee) would shape the direction of my career.
That was many years ago and, to be honest, I can’t remember exactly what he said. But I left wanting to learn more. I read Happy City and looked up the company. The next few years, I got involved in a placemaking project, finished school, started working for local government, went back to school, and kept working. I also kept reading, and was inspired by voices like Jan Gehl, Eric Klinenberg, and Rebecca Solnit. All the while, I kept in mind the lofty aims Charles had shared, including the simple idea that everyone can shape their city. His stories illustrate that cities aren’t just created by planners and politicians, but also by neighbours, families, community groups, and local businesses. Cities are healthier and happier when that happens.
Not long after—at a time when I was firmly not looking for a new job—I saw a job posting at Happy Cities. I’m sometimes still surprised that I now work at Happy Cities, that I left a comfortable career trajectory at the city, inspired by a book. I want to build on Charles’ ideas and explore practically how cities can help people become active in their community—through housing design, arts, culture, or other creative initiatives. For myself and many others, the book showed how we can contribute to the values of a happy, healthy, and inclusive city—no matter where we are.
Greg
Queensland, Australia
For two to three years early in the 2010s, I did a lot of reading about what makes us, as a species, happy: books from Daniel Kahneman, Norman Doidge, Malcolm Gladwell, and Ross Gittins (an Australian economics journalist who wrote The Happy Exonomist—great book!). Also read a lot about how the brain works, how we feel emotions (Candice Perot’s Molecules of Emotion is well worth a read!).
I had a bit of an epiphany that set me on a path with a thought about writing a book about how our cities fundamentally influence our emotions and happiness.
I happened to be in Vancouver in November 2013 and was having dinner with a good mate, during which I outlined this realization and my ambition to write a book on it.
This friend responded by telling me Charles Montgomery was launching his book on this topic the very next day! I was leaving Vancouver that day so couldn’t go along, but I quickly bought a copy and read it straight away. I thought to myself, “Well, Charles has done a great job on this topic.” And promptly retired my ambition to write something.
I so admired the book that I made a point of getting to know Charles. We met in Auckland in 2015 and have been friends ever since and, as you know, I remain a big fan, friend and supporter of your work.
Claire
Tasmania, Australia
I've been working in the medium density field for some time, worried about how our little city of Hobart was spreading instead of densifying and its heavy reliance on cars.
A colleague lent me a copy of Happy City and it resonated with me and set the path forward of what I need to advocate. Now I try to get involved in as many discussions as possible to spread the key takeaways of a happy urban environment.
Thank you for inspiring me and others to make our cities wonderful.
