Stories
We share stories and evidence on the link between urban design and human wellbeing.
All stories
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.
New housing rules in BC: How can denser neighbourhoods support wellbeing?
Three ways to ensure that new development contributes to happier, healthier, more inclusive cities.
Don’t fear density: BC’s housing targets can be a wellbeing win
More housing is coming for 10 B.C. municipalities. Here are three ways that density can boost community health and wellbeing.
Community engagement is failing us. Here's how to fix it
Four ways to include more diverse community members in planning processes.
How listening to kids leads to better urban design
When we engage youth in city planning, the results benefit everyone.
Happy, healthy tenants benefit landlords, too
Three ways rental housing providers can support social connectedness within their buildings.
“Living Together” workshop recap: Key elements for social connection in multi-unit housing
As Vancouver becomes denser, housing professionals and advocates can work together to identify creative solutions to the crises of loneliness and social isolation.
Fostering community in a temporary home: Celebrating National Indigenous People's Day at New Beginnings modular housing
A new teepee is helping to bring Indigenous residents together and establish a sense of community at the New Beginnings building in Vancouver.
Students for safer streets: Learning from the new generation of activists
People who use city spaces are the experts on how those spaces succeed or fail them.
Designing happy cities with Mitchell Reardon
Can our cities be designed to make us happier? Can street design foster trust—or even romance?
Building bridges at a distance
Now, more than ever, it is crucial for cities, city-builders and residents to stay engaged even when participants can’t meet in person. But how do we ensure remote conversations include everyone?
Renewing Happy City’s commitments to anti-racism
How we will be accountable for making change through our practice and our areas of influence.
Podcast: Paty Rios on Women-Led Cities
What does it mean to design a gender-inclusive city? To start, it means including people of diverse genders and experiences at decision-making tables.
The psychological tricks designers use to make cities happier places
From rainbow crosswalks to communal herb gardens, urban planners and architects are borrowing from neuroscience to build environments that people want to work and live in
Will Vancouver's ambitious new housing strategy make the city healthier and happier?
Vancouver, like so many cities, is experiencing a painful housing crisis. The city is the least affordable in North America.
Designed for wellbeing: Paddington Central
How have recent design improvements to the external environment at Paddington Central had an impact on the wellbeing of workers, residents and visitors?
Press release: Public space improvements can boost trust among strangers
A new study has found that a rainbow crosswalk painted by the City of Vancouver is linked to greater trust among strangers.
Tackling the crisis of social disconnection
Social wellbeing matters. Feelings of belonging and connection to other people and community are essential elements of human health and happiness.