1. HAPPINESS, AND URBAN AGE PROJECTS
If you’re happy, does reality matter? Happiness is subjective, not objective. Prosperity and wealth help, but definitely not the only things that matter to happiness. Science of Happiness is an emerging field that involves studies in public health, philosophy, neuroscience, psychology and behavior economics. Can cities be reconfigured to boost happiness? Yes. Today’s city builders have widely accepted the theory of happy city, which manifest itself in the making of great urban environment that produces more joy and less hardship for its people. Urbanization in many nations is entering a new phase beyond pursuing prosperity only – how can we design a city that gives people dignity and make them feel happy? While everyone has a personal definition of happiness when it comes to living environment, we should never forget the fact that “the greatest of human satisfaction lies in working and playing cooperatively with other people. No matter how much we cherish privacy and solitude, strong, positive relationships are the foundation of happiness.” (Happy City, Charles Montgomery) The city building is a shared project, a place where we can fabricate a common good that we simply cannot build alone.
“To test the idea, you would have to decide what you meant by happiness, and you would need a way to measure it. You would have to understand how a road, a bus, a park or a building might contribute to good feelings” (Happy City, Charles Montgomery)
The urban public realm is the physical venue of urban public life, hence presents a tremendous opportunity to infuse life with the sensual and sensory pleasures we’re looking to experience. As a space of social encounters and interaction with others, it has huge potential in shaping a more positive and strong relationship between individuals.
Getting close to each other, however, creates tension between different ideas; hence the public space design must cleverly mingle and balance competing psychology needs (privacy, conviviality, convenience and nature, according to Charles Montgomery). In order to create a near-perfect environment for happy living, we must acknowledge the real needs embodies in this tension and find a way to balance their contradictions.
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