Happy Cities

Some news: We've decided to release our award-winning Public Life Study tool today, for free! Download the tool today to get started: https://lnkd.in/gJ8N5SYA Why? We know intuitively that shared spaces are critical to our health and wellbeing. But we often lack the data to understand why a particular space is working or not, or whether it is truly inclusive of everyone in a community. Many years ago, we developed a unique Public Life Study tool to start answering these questions. In short, it offers a flexible, low-barrier method for community organizations, planners, and residents to measure changes in health, happiness, and inclusion in shared spaces. We spent years developing and refining the methodology, working with cities from Vancouver to Halifax to measure the impacts of big and small changes, like transforming a street block into a public plaza, or adding a summer events program to a shared space. But we haven’t yet seen impact we want to create. Our Public Life Studies have helped city staff tweak and improve public space projects. But it's not just cities who are doing this work. Many community organizations don't have the resources to hire researchers to assess the great work they are doing. They see impactful changes and hear positive feedback from community members. But funders—and municipalities—often want hard data before they will invest more in community-led projects. We’re releasing our method for free to help gather more evidence on wellbeing in #publicspaces, and to build the case for more placemaking. Because great public spaces are for everyone. #happycities #happycity #placesforpeople #publicspace #placemaking Evergreen Canada Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) Canadian Institute of Planners PlacemakingX Project for Public Spaces Social Life Project Placemaking Canada

What does a welcoming entrance look like? Building entrances shape the relationships between public and private spaces. The entrance of this building invites people to gather and connect through the use of comfortable seating, planting, and weather protection. These spaces can encourage spontaneous interactions between neighbours and the wider community. Download our new housing design toolkit with Hey Neighbour Collective to learn more about how to create social building edges: https://lnkd.in/gWh_KiZ2 📸 Mason on Mariposa (Craig Cozart / David Baker Architects)

Can hallways be more than just a means to get to and from your front door? Hallways, stairs, and elevators are often cold and sterile. But they can be so much more than just the place you walk through to get to your next destination. This sixth floor elevator nook at Little Mountain Cohousing is the village library: a place with cozy chairs where neighbours can read a book together or hang out after school. When circulation spaces are designed for accessibility and comfort, with good lighting and spaces to pause, they can facilitate interactions between neighbours right outside their front doors. These spaces bring joy, connection, and meaning into our daily lives. Download our new housing design toolkit with Hey Neighbour Collective to learn more about how to create social circulation spaces: https://lnkd.in/gWh_KiZ2 📸 Little Mountain Cohousing, Vancouver, BC

👏 Our team is immensely proud to be working alongside the forward-thinking Transport team at the Government of Yukon and the exceptional engagement team at Happy Cities on the walking and cycling trail plan alongside the Alaska Highway in Whitehorse 🐎 ! 🏔️ We look forward to engaging with the community in the next couple of weeks and learn more about how this trail can make day-to-day travelling in Whitehorse safer, more comfortable and more inclusive all year long ❄️ #saferspaces #spacesforpeople #humancentered #peoplefocused #activetravel #transportplanning https://lnkd.in/eNju9SUH

To coincide with HAPPI Awareness Week 2024, this NEW blog by Madeleine Hebert, Senior Housing Specialist at Happy Cities, highlights the importance of social connections in addressing societal challenges such as housing affordability, extreme weather, and ageing populations. Madeleine talks about the key lessons from the "Building Social Connections Toolkit" and how thoughtful design can create stronger communities and improve quality of life in shared living spaces. Read on to find out about designing multi-unit housing that prioritises social wellbeing 👉 https://lnkd.in/d2P-ancT #HAPPIweek #HLINblog #Design #Communitites #AgeingPopulation #Housing #HAPPIHour

As Canada's population ages, we need more attention and care to how we design age- and dementia-inclusive communities. We're grateful to have collaborated with researchers from the SFU Department of Gerontology over the past few years to develop new dementia-inclusive planning and design guidelines for neighbourhoods of all sizes. And, we're thrilled to share a new resource for planners to learn to apply dementia-inclusive design in their own communities! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gTDNT7ka

If you’re a local planner working on housing, community planning, and/or development policy in Canada, we have something amazing planned just for you! We’re teaming up with Happy Cities and Renewable Cities to host a three-part workshop series that equips planners with practical tools to unlock the social potential of multi-unit housing. Bringing together years of research, and building on our recently released **Building Social Connections Toolkit,** these workshops will tackle two questions: 🖌 What design principles and strategies can enhance social wellbeing in multi-unit housing? 🖌 How can planners design and implement policy to enable these social features—while maintaining affordability? The first workshop of the series will look into how the built environment impacts social wellbeing, design considerations for supporting social connection, understanding ways to forward policy change, and so much more! Join us on Thursday, January 30, 2025, from 9 - 11:30 AM PST. Learn more about the workshop series here: https://lnkd.in/gtRvHBTV To sign up, fill out our expression of interest form: https://lnkd.in/g4EtbBNC. We will confirm your registration via email. #workshop #planners #environment #socialconnection #policy

Why is it so hard to build good multi-unit housing? How can policy enable more socially connected, healthy homes? Our upcoming training series for planners will explore: ⚒️ Design strategies for boosting social connection and wellbeing ✍ Innovative solutions for writing better multi-unit housing policy Reserve your spot today! https://lnkd.in/gtRvHBTV The workshops are completely free, and designed for planners working on housing, development, and community planning in local government.

Do balconies really matter for wellbeing? People are unlikely to use balconies if they are too small or exposed. The good news? We’ve identified strategies to help design more social balconies that help connect neighbours to each other and the wider community, while extending the home’s living spaces. This example from Australia shows what more social, comfortable balconies might look like: sheltered spaces to garden and sit outside with a coffee, balancing privacy with connections to the street below. Our research shows that, when well-designed, residents in multi-unit buildings deeply value these semi-private outdoor spaces—for fresh air, gardening, playing, socializing, storage, and more. Download our new housing design toolkit with Hey Neighbour Collective to learn more about how to create social balcony spaces: https://lnkd.in/gWh_KiZ2 📸 Breese Street (Anthony Richardson, Tom Ross / Breathe Architecture + DKO) 

What makes a great courtyard? In this affordable family housing project, the courtyard is the heart of the community, creating opportunities for people of all ages to connect—in small and big groups. Residents can garden, play, and hang out together. Locating the laundry room on the courtyard allows parents to do laundry while kids play safely. The balconies that overlook the courtyard connect private spaces to shared spaces, creating an overall sense of community. Explore our new housing design toolkit with Hey Neighbour Collective to learn more about how to create social outdoor spaces 🌱 Download the toolkit today: https://lnkd.in/gWh_KiZ2 📸 Station Center Family Housing (David Baker Architects) #affordablehousing #housingdesign #density #socialspaces