The author explores the intersection of urban design and the science of happiness. On one hand, cities were pumping out most of the world pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Also cities will be slammed by the effects of climate change, from heat waves and water scarcity. Experts agree cities would bear more than three quarters the cost to adapt to global warming. The mayor of Bogata promised his city needs beauty, and nature. The city itself can be a device for happiness by changing the shapes and systems that define urban existence. Greater public space is a kind of magical good. !! The humble sidewalk, the park, the bike path, and the bus were elevated to spiritual realm!! His first act as mayor was to declare a war not on drugs, crime or poverty but a war on private cars. A city can be friendly to people or cars but not both. He banned drivers from commuting by car more than three times a week. On one day he banned all cars from the city and people had to bike walk or skate and it lwas the first day in four years there were no traffic deaths and hospital admissions dropped by a third. Rome rose, as its wealth was poured into the common good of roads and aqueducts m, but fell when it was hoarded in private villas and palaces. Cities must be regarded as systems to improve human wellbeing. Historically cities have engaged in exclusionary zoning- which is a way to exclude people of a lower income bracket from living in your neighborhood. Segregation was then the natural working of the free market. So you ban duplexes and apartment buildings so that houses are for single white residents which benefit from the invisible hand of government. * Also discussed in The Color of Law* because it is then illegal to build in a different way it takes an immense amount of time to get changes in zoning. Home mortgage subsidies rewarded Americans for abandoning downtowns and punished those who stayed behind, with freeways cutting through inner-city neighborhoods. Research shows that a person with a one hour commute needs to earn 40 Percent more to be satisfied as someone that walks to work.

Cities need to nourish ( content and warmth from other humans) and nurture ( healing touch of nature) its citizens. We need the benefits of proximity but these conveniences come with the price of overstimulation and crowding. So we need to understand the contradiction of these two opposing powers. Vancouver is a great example of a city with high density with great views of nature. It’s has the lowest per capital carbon footprint of any major city on the continent. They squeezed tower living spaces 80 feet apart so everyone has a visual connection to nature. The streets between remain lively. As the city gets more dense, the residents enjoy more public green space. Access to nature needs to be part of your daily routine. There is a sweet spot between privacy, nature, conviviality, and convenience.

Jan Gehl if a street features varied facades, lots of openings, and high density of functions per block then people walk by more slowly. Self-propelled commuters report feeling that their trips are easier than the trips people make sitting still in a car.


Cyclist and pedestrians who pay taxes end up subsidizing their car-driving neighbors. In a fair city, streets are for everyone , especially children. In a fair city everyone has access to parks, shops, services, and healthy food. The happy cities matrix of freedom, rich public spaces, leisure time, and safe streets is not helpful to people in the suburbs who live far from the dense and connected places. Sixty percent of Americans would rather live in a neighborhood that has a mix of houses, stores, and businesses within an easy walk rather than forcing them to drive everywhere. Suburban sprawl has historically been incentivized and now we want incentives for mixed use and walkable places.

This would make a great book club read for
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