Happy Homes

The world’s first interdisciplinary research-action initiative to boost sociability and equity through the design of multifamily housing.

How do planners, developers and policy makers promote sociability through multi-family housing design?

In 2015, Happy Cities began conducting research on the relationships between social interaction, wellbeing, and multi-family housing. We found that thoughtful design can help address social isolation and build community resilience in multi-family settings. Thanks to the support of BC Housing and the Real Estate Foundation of BC, we’ve been able to continue translating evidence-based conclusions into smart design and action steps.

Developers, planners, architects, and health authorities joined in our research, helping us understand the policy barriers and design challenges they face. Together we’ve begun laying pathways to building multi-family places where people are happier, healthier, and more connected.

Click on the images below to learn more about the different phases of the Happy Homes project and download the free reports and toolkits.

A perspective view of numerous presentation boards, titled with themes like 'Safety' and 'Doing Things Together', depicting urban development plans.
Colorful illustration of a community scene with diverse activities, including people walking dogs, gardening, cycling, and chatting.
An open brochure titled 'Happy Homes', detailing policy solutions and actions for housing with text and illustrations on a green background.

Have more questions?

We can help you complete a Happy Homes audit of your multi-family building or development, helping your team to identify concrete strategies for maximizing wellbeing in any project.