Happy City
Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design is a 2013 book written by the Canadian author Charles Montgomery. Gathering insights from the disciplines of psychology, neuroscience, urban planning and Montgomery’s own social experiments, the book makes the case that the manner in which we build our cities alters the way in which we feel, think, and behave as individuals and as a society. Montgomery argues that the happy city, the green city, and the low-carbon city are the same place, and we can all help build it. Montgomery states that the book is about "seeing  our city streets, hearts, and mobility systems as emotional infrastructure that can make or break the health or happiness of our citizens." From Stockton, California to Bogotá, Colombia, Montgomery discusses the urban challenges cities face and the innovative solutions being implemented all over the world to empower communities. The book was a Finalist for the Shaughnessy Bishop-Cohen Prize for Political Writing and Charles Taylor Prize for Non-fiction, and a Winner of the Robert Bruss Real Estate Book Awards. It was also a shortlisted nominee for the 2014 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction. Chapters. The book contains  13 chapters and an epilogue: Chapter 1. The Mayor of Happy The major, Enrique Penalosa, takes a stroll through his city and encounters many of his constituents with whom he shares intriguing conversation regarding the city itself. The overall consensus of the conversation is that if our needs are met, we can all live happy lives, but if the urban design fabric of city conflicts with our needs, it can impede on our happiness.