| Description |
389 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps ; 20 cm |
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regular print |
| Summary |
Happy City is the story of how the solutions to this century's problems - from climate change to overpopulation - lie in unlocking the secrets to great city living. Why are some cities a joy to live in, and others chronically miserable? As award-winning journalist Charles Montgomery reveals, the answers lie in the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness. Journeying to dozens of cities - from Atlanta to Bogota to Vancouver - he talks to the new champions of the happy city to discover the progressive movements already transforming people's lives. He meets the visionary Colombian mayor who used a "sexy" bus to ease status anxiety; a Danish architect who brought the lessons of medieval Tuscan towns to modern-day Copenhagen; the activist who turned Paris' urban freeways into beaches; and an army of American suburbanites who have transformed their own lives by hacking the design of their neighbourhoods. In these stories, and in the fascinating realm of urban experimentation, Happy City finds new insights for better living. From how saying hello to neighbours is just as important to your mental health as contact with close friends and family, to how gardens make us kinder, and how simple changes in road design can alter the hormonal state of commuters, Happy City shows that simple changes can make all the difference |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
City dwellers -- Psychology.
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City planning -- Psychological aspects.
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City planning -- Social aspects.
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Happiness.
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Environmental psychology.
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Urban beautification.
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| ISBN |
9780141047546 (paperback) |
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