Living Happier
If you ask almost anyone about what they want most out of life, most of us will say to be happy. Humans are intrinsically motivated towards happiness. From the moment humanity began, the quest for happiness has been a foundational pursuit. Philosophers, poets, and scientists have grappled with its meaning, its sources, and its implications.
Yet most of our everyday choices that we make don't result in achieving greater happiness. Housing is a key example of this. When you make choices about housing, it's filled up with ideas of dreams and ideology, and sense of the future.
As a result, most of us make the choices about where to live based on the wrong criteria. We narrow our choice based on the number of bedrooms, the amount of storage cupboards, the reputation of a postcode and, of course, the price point, without adequate understanding of our personal values and lifestyle needs. As a result, many of us end up in spaces that, after the initial move-in excitement fades, don’t quite resonate with our deeper needs for health and happiness.
Your postcode is as likely to affect your life expectance as your genetic code.
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Where you live, your postcode, can predict your life expectancy. Research by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has shown that your postcode is more likely to determine how long you live than your genetic code. Their longitudinal study of hundreds of cities and towns has shown that factors like proximity to local amenities, having close friends and social networks nearby, tree cover and a clean environment will enhance longevity. On the flip side, poor air quality, noise pollution, loneliness or car-dependence can literally take years off your life.
Choosing your suburb one of the single most powerful choices that you can make in your life to determine your health. It many of us don't understand the things about neighbourhoods that make us happy and healthy. And instead make choices based on the wrong criteria. It’s as if we compartmentalise housing as a mere physical need, often overlooking its profound impact on our emotional and psychological well-being.
It’s time to change this.
What is Urban Happiness
Urban happiness, a term that has gained momentum in recent years, refers to the emotional, psychological, and overall well-being of individuals living in urban settings. It encompasses not only an individual's physical living situation, but their subjective feelings of joy and contentment that contribute to their quality of life.
Modern psychology and social research offer insights into the ingredients of a happy life. While genes and circumstances play a role, a significant portion of our happiness is influenced by our choices, attitudes, and environment. The renowned Harvard Study of Adult Development, which spanned over 80 years, identified close relationships, more than money or fame, as the most significant contributor to happiness. Other studies point towards factors like meaningful work, community involvement, physical health, and a sense of autonomy.
Urban Happiness as a compass for planning future cities
This blog unpacks urban happiness as a compass for planning the future of how we live and work. In a world that’s increasingly uncertain, planning for the future is harder than ever. While it’s almost impossible to accurately predict exactly how data, technology and Ai will alter the ways we live and work, our fundamental human needs remain. We have a fundamental evolutionary need to be safe, for comfort, to belong.
Too often the shape of our cities and housing environments focuses only on our basic physical needs - the hardware - when space has a fundamental role to plan in shaping our social needs - how we connect, build community and create identity - the software.
By doubling down on urban happiness we can have greater certainty on creating places that people love and value.