Happy City, Does it Exist?

I recently finished reading Happy City by Charles Montgomery.

In the book, he describes some of the elements that help make a city more livable for all its residents.  In the beginning of the book, he tells the story of a woman who had a child in a daycare near where she lived.  However, she worked 60 miles away, which would take her over an hour to drive.

One day she got a call that her child was sick and that she should come pick him up.  She was very upset and had to fight through the traffic for an hour to get back to her son.  This is not what makes a happy city.

Now some people argue that happy is subjective and defining it is difficult.  The author admits this is true but researchers have found the best way to assess happiness is not by objective measures or metrics but by simply asking people.  Self-assessment has come forth as the best indicator of whether people are happy or not.

Montgomery approaches the issue from a planning perspective and believes that the dispersal seen in North America does not work.  Also, the zoning laws that prevent mixed use developments also don't work.

Cities need to provide people choice, whether they want to drive a car or take transit.

With more and more of the world's population moving into cities, the old method of low density homes just won't work and developing more density is a reality.