Happy City
Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design
Book - 2013
"A journalist travels the world and investigates current socioeconomic theories of happiness to discover why most modern cities are designed to make us miserable, what we can do to change this, and why we have more to learn from poor cities than from prosperous ones"--
Publisher:
New York :, Farrar, Straus and Giroux,, 2013.
Edition:
First edition.
ISBN:
9780374168230
Branch Call Number:
307.1216 MO
Characteristics:
358 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm


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Add a CommentGreat book! I learned a lot about how design choices within a city affect individual and societal health and happiness.
Such an interesting read that I think about every day!
Once you've read this book (and I mean read, not just turned the pages) your view of cities--and the lifestyle they engender--will be forever changed. You can not go back. Your mental furniture has been permanently re-arranged. Favorably.
This is a book that all city planner in Markham should read. Especially with the recent development of Highway 7 with the VIVA bus lane and bike lanes. The decision to go with the VIVA designated lane is great but the addition of bike lanes there just doesn't make any sense. Overall it is thought inducing and it did help change the way I move around in the neighborhood (eg bike, taking the viva and just walking).
Mere reporting here, no intelligent analysis.
Oh how I had hoped Jim Watson had read this instead of watching Netflix as he was convalescing!!!
IMO City Council needs to read it as well!
If I see another condo go up I am going to lose my mind!
Author talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk. Book a good seller, no doubt.
I heard about the book on Tapestry. I have been interested in urban design and development since reading Jane Jacobs' "Death and life of great American cities" in the early 1970s
As a Vancouver-rite its always fun to read about your city in e.g. after e.g. of how things have played out or are playing out.
Those people who managed to slow our rapid freeway/highway expansion that was planned in the 70's/80's, thank you so very much. It may not have even been what you intended but you have impacted both our present and future. I think positively.
So many things in here are counter intuititive, in my opinion. It seems obvious to improve traffic build bigger/better roads. Thankfully books like this one prove that idea not only wrong but suggest reforming our cities thereby impacting ALL segments of society (work, play, education etc...). Good book but many will not want to hear the message, just yet..........
Very interesting book that challenges a lot of preconceived notions about how cities develop. It can be maddening at times as you will inevitably be reminded of the terrible car-centered decisions your city halls probably makes. One minor annoyance was the fact that the author, Canadian, uses miles and, especially, farenheits, which are about as meaningless as Klingon jargon everywhere else but the US. Still, a great inspiring read detailing a lot of forward city building and city 'repairing'.