Stories
We share stories and evidence on the link between urban design and human wellbeing.
How listening to kids leads to better urban design
When we engage youth in city planning, the results benefit everyone.
Can we design pandemic-proof cities?
When it comes to keeping people alive, neighbourhood design may matter much more than urban density.
The pandemic is changing the way we use city spaces — for good
Responses to the pandemic can actually make cities happier, healthier and stronger in the long run.
Testing social trust in Mexico
What happens when you challenge hundreds of young Mexicans to reach out to strangers?
What is urban experimentalism?
I began my search for the essence of the happier city as a journalist, searching for experts among planners, mayors, psychologists and economists.
Emotions in place: Why do visitors to New York have a different physical reaction to streets than locals?
Results from a study of the psychophysiological effects of public space in New York City, Berlin and Mumbai.
Green, grey and the good city: Learning from Berlin
On a blustery, rainy July day, more than 40 people showed up to join an urbanist experiment at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in Berlin.
Let a stranger into your home. Seriously.
We challenged residents of Vancouver to open their homes to total strangers.