Happy Homes Interactive Toolkit

Use this interactive tool to understand how to build sociability through multi-unit housing design

The crises of social isolation and affordability can be solved together.

The design multi-unit housing can nurture local social connections and trust. Our Happy Homes project, which first began in 2015, gathered evidence from psychology, neuroscience, public health and other fields to identify how design influences sociability in multi-family housing.

Since the publication of the original Happy Homes toolkit, we have built on this work through research, engagement, and policy work with municipalities, housing providers, architects, and health authorities across Metro Vancouver and beyond.

To see how this work has evolved, please visit the Building Social Connections page.

Happy Homes interactive toolkit

Explore the original Happy Homes toolkit below, including principles, strategies and actions to boost social wellbeing in multi-unit housing.

Doing things together

Doing things together
Exposure

Exposure
Tenure

Tenure
Social group size

Social group size
Feeling safe

Feeling safe
Participation

Participation
Walkability

Walkability
Nature

Nature
Comfort

Comfort
Culture and values

Culture and values

This toolkit was created with support from BC Housing Building Excellence Research & Education Program, The School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, Mitacs, RNL Design, Museum of Vancouver and dozens of idea contributors.