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A globe-trotting, eye-opening exploration of how cities can―and do―make us happier peopleCharles Montgomery's Happy City is revolutionizing 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 the suburbs? 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 world's most dynamic cities. He meets the visionary mayor who introduced a "sexy" bus to ease status anxiety in Bogotá; the architect who brought the lessons of medieval Tuscan hill towns to modern-day New York City; the activist who turned Paris's 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 Montgomery's own urban experiments, Happy City reveals how cities can shape our thoughts as well as our behavior. The message is ultimately as surprising as it is hopeful: 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 we can all help build it.
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Reprint edition (October 7, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374534888
ISBN-13: 978-0374534882
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #57,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #12 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Urban & Regional #27 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy > City Planning & Urban Development #27 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Urban Planning & Development
*A full summary of this book is available here: An Executive Summary of Charles Montgomery's 'Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design'The main argument: The modern city owes much of its current design to two major trends or `movements' that have emerged since the time of the industrial revolution. The first trend traces back to the industrial revolution itself, when the appearance of smoke-billowing factories (and egregiously dirty slums) necessitated new solutions to the problem of how to organize city life. The answer--still reflected in cities all over the world--was to compartmentalize functions, such that industrial areas, shopping areas, office areas, and living areas were separated off from one another into distinct blocks of the city.The second trend in urban design took full hold in the post-war era, with the rise of the suburbs. In a sense, the suburbs represent a continuation and intensification of the compartmentalization movement, as the living areas of the upper classes were separated-off still further from the other areas of the city--out into sprawling districts miles away (as automobiles made it possible for certain city dwellers to escape to an idealized haven away from the hustle and bustle).While the suburban movement has had the bulk of its impact on the landscape outside of the city proper, the city itself has not been spared of its influence.
Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design Inheritance: How Our Genes Change Our Lives--and Our Lives Change Our Genes Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander Living as United Methodist Christians: Our Story, Our Beliefs, Our Lives The Urban Design Reader (Routledge Urban Reader Series) Becoming an Urban Planner: A Guide to Careers in Planning and Urban Design The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History The Permaculture City: Regenerative Design for Urban, Suburban, and Town Resilience Rebuilding the American City: Design and Strategy for the 21st Century Urban Core Wake Up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide to Transforming Your Life The Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective: Easy Techniques for Mastering Perspective Drawing on Location (Urban Sketching Handbooks) The Urban Politics Reader (Routledge Urban Reader Series) The Urban Sociology Reader (Routledge Urban Reader Series) The Urban Sketching Handbook: People and Motion: Tips and Techniques for Drawing on Location (Urban Sketching Handbooks) The Urban Sketching Handbook: Reportage and Documentary Drawing: Tips and Techniques for Drawing on Location (Urban Sketching Handbooks) Urban Sketching For Beginners: A Beginner's Guide to Urban Sketching, Including Sustainable Urban Development Reader (Routledge Urban Reader Series) Integrating Geology in Urban Planning (Atlas of Urban Geology)
