num_pages: 368
description: Charles Montgomerys Happy City will revolutionize the way we think about urban life.After decades of unchecked sprawl more people than ever are moving back to the city. Dense urban living has been prescribed as a panacea for the environmental and resource crises of our time. But is it better or worse for our happiness? Are subways sidewalks and condo towers an improvement on the car-dependence of sprawl?The award-winning journalist Charles Montgomery finds answers to such questions at the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness during an exhilarating journey through some of the worlds most dynamic cities. He meets the visionary mayor who introduced a sexy bus to ease status anxiety in Bogot; the architect who brought the lessons of medieval Tuscan hill towns to modern-day New York City; the activist who turned Pariss urban freeways into beaches; and an army of American suburbanites who have hacked the design of their own streets and neighborhoods.Rich with new insights from psychology neuroscience and Montgomerys own urban experiments Happy City reveals how our cities can shape our thoughts as well as our behavior. The message is as surprising as it is by retrofitting cities and our own lives for happiness we can tackle the urgent challenges of our age. The happy city can save the world--and all of us can help build it. 
language: English
title: Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design
publisher: Doubleday Canada