Stories
We share stories and evidence on the link between urban design and human wellbeing.
All stories
What is placemaking? And more FAQs
How do you start a placemaking project, and why does placemaking matter for healthy communities? Happy Cities answers your questions!
New guidelines for age- and dementia-inclusive neighbourhoods
Learn the unique planning and design considerations for older adults and people living with dementia through a free online course.
Movie nights, picnics, and art: How Surrey, BC is creating safer public spaces
To create safer neighbourhoods, offer inviting and vibrant places for community members to gather.
Low barrier, high impact: The value of community placemaking
How to measure success of public space transformations.
The business case for placemaking
To strengthen local economies, create places that people want to spend time in.
How can placemaking contribute to reconciliation?
Indigenous community members are shaping placemaking and urban design projects to share their histories of place and create stronger communities.
Placemaking for our planet: How community projects fight climate change
Community gardens, food co-ops, bike programs, and more are tackling climate resilience at the neighbourhood scale.
Making space for youth in our communities
How city staff, community organizations, and placemakers can create better places for young people.
Introducing: A free tool to study public life
Happy Cities’ award-winning Public Life Study can help you measure the impact of public space transformations on community connections, trust, and inclusion.
How placemaking positively impacts our health
How shared spaces can support physical and mental health for people of all ages.
Why are great streets so hard to build?
To make every street wonderful, add it to people’s job descriptions.
Placemaking builds trust. Here’s why cities should invest in it
When people take an active role in shaping their community, they build social connections and trust—with one another, and with local government.
Placemaking is like a box of chocolates
The power of benches and seating to connect strangers.
For happier, healthier communities, invest in placemaking
Placemaking is a cost-effective way to boost health, social connection, resilience, inclusion, and economic activity.
How Halifax built the most vibrant waterfront in Canada: Decades of small changes
For successful placemaking, small, consistent investments over time matter more than grand gestures.
The secret to vibrant streets? Focus on what people can see
Transit-oriented development suggests that homes, shops, and services should all be located within 400 metres of transit. The actual distance to create vibrant streets may be much shorter.
To build resilient communities, start with social connection
Social ties are the building blocks for community resilience. As extreme weather events increase, our connections can be the difference between life and death.
How to design a dementia-inclusive community
New planning and design guidelines to boost wellbeing for people living with dementia, from Happy Cities and SFU.