the happy city

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THE HAPPY CITYDid you know that living in a city is actually pretty bad for yourhappiness? Studies showthat youre more likely to be happy the

smaller the city that you live in. But with 5 billion people living in citiesby 2!" is there a way we can change the unhappiness found incities?

#ctually" there is. $rban design.

$rban design isnt %ust about the best place to build a road or a newsewer. &n fact" if its done correctly" urban design can make an entirecity happier and healthier. #nd it doesnt need everyone to be a

millionaire at their dream %ob. &n fact" building a happy city is a lot lesspie'in'the'sky dreaming and a lot more sustainable" healthytransportation.

&n ())*" +nri,ue -ealosa was elected mayor of Bogot/" the capital of0olombia and the bustling home of some 1. million people. But when-ealosa was elected" Bogot/ was facing huge challenges as acommunity. &t had too many cars" so commuting times were enormousand pollution was terrible" and kidnapping and murder were far toocommon. So -ealosa decided to redesign the very fabric of the city.3e made it e4tremely difficult to drive by only letting people commutevia car three times a week and banning cars completely for no cardays. o make up the difference" he hugely e4panded the cycleinfrastructure and built the citys first public transit system.

#ll of a sudden" streets that had only heard the rumble of car engineswere alive with the noise of kids playing and cyclists chatting.0ommuting time was halved" and the murder rate fell 6even as thecountry got more violent7.

-ealosa built a city where the bike was the vehicle of choice. But didthis actually make people happier?

&n short" yes. he longer someones car commute" the less happy theyare. 8ong distance car commuters are 9 percent more likely to getdivorced. Drivers during peak rush hour e4perience higher stresslevels than fighter pilotswho are over enemy territory. :n the otherhand" commuters who get to work under their own steam e4hibit far

less stress and have agenerally more positive psychological wellbeing.
http://www.citylab.com/design/2011/10/urban-rural-happiness-debate/290/http://scied.ucar.edu/longcontent/growing-citieshttp://scied.ucar.edu/longcontent/growing-citieshttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-priceshttp://www.samfak.umu.se/english/about-the-faculty/news/newsdetailpage/long-distance-commuters-get-divorced-more-often.cid160978http://www.samfak.umu.se/english/about-the-faculty/news/newsdetailpage/long-distance-commuters-get-divorced-more-often.cid160978http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/30/research.transporthttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/30/research.transporthttp://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20140915/walking-biking-to-work-seems-to-have-mental-health-benefitshttp://scied.ucar.edu/longcontent/growing-citieshttp://scied.ucar.edu/longcontent/growing-citieshttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-priceshttp://www.samfak.umu.se/english/about-the-faculty/news/newsdetailpage/long-distance-commuters-get-divorced-more-often.cid160978http://www.samfak.umu.se/english/about-the-faculty/news/newsdetailpage/long-distance-commuters-get-divorced-more-often.cid160978http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/30/research.transporthttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/30/research.transporthttp://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20140915/walking-biking-to-work-seems-to-have-mental-health-benefitshttp://www.citylab.com/design/2011/10/urban-rural-happiness-debate/290/


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$rban designers have a chance to change the fabric of a city. #nd if welet them" they can design a city that benefits everyones health" theirpsychological wellbeing and their safety.

urns out you can design happiness.

The Great Urban-RuralHappiness DebateSome numbers say small-town folk are happier than city folk, but the true

story is much more complicated

ERIC JAFFE

@e_jaffe

Oct 13, 2011

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George McLellan smiles while weeding the vegetable garden at his farm in Unity, New

Hampshire.(RU!R"#$rian "nyder%

The subtitle of Ed Glaesar's recent book,Triumph of the City, states that

urban areas make people richer, smarter, greener, healthier, and

happier. A pair of researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas aren't

so sure about that last one. In arecent paper publishedin the

journalUrban Geography, Brian Berry and Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn

contend that statistical data show a clear urban-rural happiness gradient

in other words, as they move from small town to suburb to city, they

find a gradual decrease in subjective well-being:

There are many benefits of big-city living; high levels of happiness are notamong them.

The researchers explore some of the theoretical underpinnings of urban

unhappiness referring often to Louis Wirth's 1938 paper,"Urbanism

as a Way of Life,"[PDF] which cites "the relative absence of intimate

personal acquaintanceship," as one of many potential reasons city

residents should be less happy before moving on to recent data.

Their primary resource is the General Social Survey, a broad sweep of

social information collected regularly since 1972. By mapping responses

to the G.S.S. question on happiness with data on place of residence,
http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/159420277Xhttp://bellwether.metapress.com/content/p350761762640362/?p=c58b769487ab4c7294e34a145252de4e&pi=6http://www.sociology.osu.edu/classes/soc367/payne/Wirth_1938_AJS.pdfhttp://www.sociology.osu.edu/classes/soc367/payne/Wirth_1938_AJS.pdfhttp://www.amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/159420277Xhttp://bellwether.metapress.com/content/p350761762640362/?p=c58b769487ab4c7294e34a145252de4e&pi=6http://www.sociology.osu.edu/classes/soc367/payne/Wirth_1938_AJS.pdfhttp://www.sociology.osu.edu/classes/soc367/payne/Wirth_1938_AJS.pdf


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the researchers find that, between 1972 and 2008, "happiness has been

lowest in the nation's largest cities and has consistently been at its

highest levels in small towns and rural areas":

Over the years scholars have built a good deal of evidence supporting

the existence of this urban-rural happiness gradient. To help their case,

Berry and Okulicz-Kozaryn reference a great deal of it. Onefairly recent

studyof the Los Angeles area found that suburban residents feel less

vulnerable and scared of crime than people in the city, which could have

an indirect impact on life satisfaction. Other research from several years

back found that poor African Americans in the city hadlower

psychological well-beingthan those in rural areas.More recent workin

senior homes in Iowa found more depressive symptoms in city residentsthan in those who live in a rural neighborhood.

But in making their point the authors overlook an equally significant

body of research that shows the matter is far from settled. In the

psychological well-being study noted above, for instance, researchers

also found that poor whites had ahigherwell-being in cities than in rural

areas, and that urban and rural poor showedno differenceoverall in

happiness or depression results that Berry and Okulicz-Kozaryn fail

to mention. They also citea 1992 studyof the Detroit metro area in
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1389550http://www.jstor.org/pss/1389550http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1992.tb00373.x/abstracthttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1992.tb00373.x/abstracthttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19382028http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1520-6629(199210)20:4%3C353::AID-JCOP2290200409%3E3.0.CO;2-Z/abstracthttp://www.jstor.org/pss/1389550http://www.jstor.org/pss/1389550http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1992.tb00373.x/abstracthttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1992.tb00373.x/abstracthttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19382028http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1520-6629(199210)20:4%3C353::AID-JCOP2290200409%3E3.0.CO;2-Z/abstract


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support of their happiness gradient that, upon closer inspection,

concludes the opposite: people in the suburbs were "no more likely"

than those in the city to express satisfaction with the quality of their

lives, according to the Detroit report.

The oversights don't end there. The authors briefly reference, but fail to

elaborate on,a 2008 paper[PDF] that lists several recent research

studies that failed to confirm the urban-rural gradient. This 2008 study

also pointed out that many urban happiness studies control for income,

which can provide "a deceptive appearance of greater rural well-being,"

since income and happiness are typically (though not always) positively

correlated. The final caveat worth mentioning is the G.S.S. happiness

question itself. The item calls for one of only three responses very

happy, pretty happy, or not too happy that reduce all the complexities

of happiness to an absurdly simple multiple choice.

Having said all that, Berry and Okulicz-Kozaryn certainly understand

that their proposed gradient is far from straightforward. For one

thing,their own previous researchhas noticed that in some parts of the

world, namely rapidly developing cities in Asia, well-being was relatively

higher in big cities than elsewhere. In the new study they also performsome additional tests that ultimately undermine the gradient and lead

them to conclude that "its foundations are more complex." When they

added data on ancestry into their analysis, for instance, the gradient

dulled substantially; when they factored in race to the analysis, it dulled

some more; and when they

considered both ancestry and

race, the gradient disappeared.

In other words, happiness is

complicated. Wherever you live.

Growing Cities;arming global temperatures" sea level

rise" and changing availability of water

resources are challenges for people who

are planning for the future needs of urban

settings.


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that affect cities. he cities themselves affect their local climate. 0hanges in the way land is

used" the amount of paved areas and air pollution affect the weather patterns in urban

areas" which are growing at a rapid pace.

#ccording to the $nited =ations" as of :ctober !(" 2(( there were seven billion peopleliving on +arth. he actual population is never known for certain since these numbers rely

on national censuses" which are conducted at different times. he $nited States 0ensus

Bureau currently estimates that the world population will increase to more than ).! billion

people by 25 and more than ( billion by the end of this century.

&n (*" there were only about one billion people living on +arth" and only !> of those

people lived in cities. By the end of the 2th century" there were si4 billion people living on

+arth and the percentage in cities had risen to 9>. oday" more than half of the human

population lives in urban areas 6defined as a population center with more than 5"

inhabitants7.

#ccording to a 2(( $nited =ations report" the worlds urban population is e4pected to

swell to almost 5 billion by 2!" when three out of five people will live in cities. he worlds

urban population is growing at four times the rate of the rural population. By the year 25"

the percentage of urban dwellers worldwide is e4pected to reach percent.

#lthough the worlds urban population grew very rapidly 6from 22 million to 2.* billion7

during the 2th century" most urban growth today is happening in the developing world.

&n the ne4t few decades unprecedented urban growth is e4pected in developing countries"

particularly in #frica and #sia. :verall" in #frica" population is e4pected to triple by the end

of the century. &n #sia" population is e4pected to peak around the middle of the century with

over five billion people. By 2!" the towns and cities of the developing world will make up

*( percent of the worlds urban dwellers.

;hen rural or natural areas are transformed into cities" changes to the landscape can lead

to changes in the weather patterns over that landscape. or e4ample" heat from the Sun is

absorbed more by asphalt and concrete than by grass and trees. So as a city grows and

these materials become more common" more heat is trapped. his is known as the $rban

3eat &sland effect. #dditionally" the heat" the shape of tall buildings" and air pollution can

affect weather patterns in and around a city.

2011

The secrets of the world's happiest cities;hat makes a city a great place to live @ your commute" property prices or goodconversation?

0heck out theguardian.comAcities a new website devoted to the future of citiesall over the world
http://www.theguardian.com/citieshttp://www.theguardian.com/cities


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Share 9519

(2

inShare("5)(

+mail

o Chares Montgomery

o

o he Cuardian" riday ( =ovember 2(! 2!. C

o Eump to comments 6&&' 7

F0ity life is as much about moving through landscapes as it is about being in them.F &llustration rancescoBongiorni for the Cuardian

wo bodyguards trotted behind +nri,ue -ealosa" their pistols%ostling in holsters. here was nothing remarkable about that" givenhis profession @ and his locale. -ealosa was a politician on yetanother campaign" and this was Bogot/" a city with a reputation forkidnapping and assassination. ;hat was unusual was this-ealosa didnFt climb into the armoured S$G. &nstead" he hopped ona mountain bike. 3is bodyguards and & pedalled madly behind" likea throng of teenagers in the wake of a rock star.

)# Ha**y City% Transforming our ives through urban !esign

2. by 0harles ontgomery
https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-priceshttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-priceshttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/charles-montgomeryhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-prices#start-of-commentshttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-prices#start-of-commentshttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-prices#start-of-commentshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1alosahttps://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-priceshttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-priceshttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/charles-montgomeryhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-prices#start-of-commentshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1alosa


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!.

9.

Buy the book

(. Te us what you thin+%Star'rate and review this book

# few years earlier" this ride would have been a radical and @ in theopinion of many Bogot/ns @ suicidal act. &f you wanted to beassaulted" asphy4iated by e4haust fumes or run over" the cityFsstreets were the place to be. But -ealosa insisted that things hadchanged. H;eFre living an e4periment"H he yelled back at me. H;emight not be able to fi4 the economy. But we can design the city togive people dignity" to make them feel rich. he city can make themhappier.H

& first saw the ayor of 3appiness work his rhetorical magic back inthe spring of 21. he $nited =ations had %ust announced thatsome day in the following months" one more child would be born inan urban hospital or a migrant would stumble into a metropolitanshantytown" and from that moment on" more than half the worldFspeople would be living incities. By 2!" almost 5 billion of us will beurban.-ealosa insisted that" like most cities" Bogot/ had been left deeplywounded by the 2th centuryFs dual urban legacy first" the city hadbeen gradually reoriented around cars. Second" public spaces andresources had largely been privatised. his reorganisation was bothunfair @ only one in five families even owned a car @ and cruelurban residents had been denied the opportunity to en%oy the cityFssimplest daily pleasures walking on convivial streets" sitting aroundin public. #nd playing children had largely disappeared fromBogot/Fs streets" not because of the fear of gunfire or abduction" butbecause the streets had been rendered dangerous by sheer speed.-ealosaFs first and most defining act as mayor was to declare warnot on crime or drugs or poverty" but on cars.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/data/book/9781846143205http://www.theguardian.com/citieshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/books/data/book/9781846143205http://www.theguardian.com/cities


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3e threw out the ambitious highway e4pansion plan and insteadpoured his budget into hundreds of miles of cycle pathsI a vast newchain of parks and pedestrian plaJasI and the cityFs first rapid transitsystem 6the ransilenio7" using buses instead of trains. 3e banned

drivers from commuting by car more than three times a week. hisprogramme redesigned the e4perience of city living for millions ofpeople" and it was an utter re%ection of the philosophies that haveguided city planners around the world for more than half a century.&n the third year of his term" -ealosa challenged Bogot/ns toparticipate in an e4periment. #s of dawn on 29 ebruary 2" carswere banned from streets for the day. &t was the first day in fouryears that nobody was killed in traffic. 3ospital admissions fell byalmost a third. he to4ic haJe over the city thinned. -eople toldpollsters that they were more optimistic about city life than they hadbeen in years.

0olombianstudents ride their bicycles during F=o car dayF in Bogota. he day'long ban onall private car traffic on the cityFs streets forces residents to use publictransportation or bicycles to get to and from work. -hotograph Eose iguelComeJAKeuters

:ne memory from early in the %ourney has stuck with me" perhapsbecause it carries both the sweetness and the sub%ectiveslipperiness of the happiness we sometimes find in cities. -ealosa"who was running for re'election" needed to be seen out on hisbicycle that day. 3e hollered "Cmo le va?"6H3owFs it going?H7 atanyone who appeared to recognise him. But this did not e4plain hishaste or his ,uickening pace as we traversed the north end of thecity towards the #ndean foothills. &t was all & could do to keep up withhim" block after block" until we arrived at a compound ringed by a

high iron fence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransMileniohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransMilenio


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Boys in crisp white shirts and matching uniforms poured through agate. :ne of them" a bright'eyed ('year'old" pushed a miniatureversion of -ealosaFs bicycle through the crowd. Suddenly& understood his haste. 3e had been rushing to pick up his son from

school" like other parents were doing that very moment up and downthe time Jone. 3ere" in the heart of one of the meanest" poorestcities in the hemisphere" father and son would roll away from theschool gate for a carefree ride across the metropolis. his was anunthinkable act in most modern cities. #s the sun fell and the #ndescaught fire" we arced our way along the wide'open avenues" thenwest along a highway built for bicycles. he kid raced ahead. #t thatpoint" & wasnFt sure about -ealosaFs ideology. ;ho was to say thatone way of moving was better than another? 3ow could anyoneknow enough about the needs of the human soul to prescribe theideal city for happiness?

But for a moment & forgot my ,uestions. & let go of my handlebarsand raised my arms in the air of the cooling breeJe" and &remembered my own childhood of country roads" after'schoolwanderings" laJy rides and pure freedom. & felt fine. he city wasmine. he %ourney began.

&s urban design really powerful enough to make or break happiness?he ,uestion deserves consideration" because the happy citymessage is taking root around the world. Hhe most dynamiceconomies of the 2th century produced the most miserable cities ofall"H -ealosa told me over the roar of traffic. H&Fm talking about the$S #tlanta" -hoeni4" iami" cities totally dominated by cars.H

Kedransmilenio buses pull into the useum of Cold station in front of the (1thcentury &glesia de San rancisco" BogotaFs oldest restored church. -hotographEohn 0olettiACetty &mages


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&f one was to %udge by sheer wealth" the last half'century shouldhave been an ecstatically happy time for people in the $S and otherrich nations such as 0anada" Eapan and Creat Britain. #nd yet theboom decades of the late 2th century were not accompanied by a

boom in wellbeing. he British got richer by more than 9> between())! and 2(2" but the rate of psychiatric disorders and neurosesgrew.

Eust before the crash of 2*" a team of &talian economists" led byStefano Bartolini" tried to account for that seemingly ine4plicable gapbetween rising income and flatlining happiness in the $S. he&talians tried removing various components of economic and socialdata from their models" and found that the only factor powerfulenough to hold down peopleFs self'reported happiness in the face of

all that wealth was the countryFs declining social capital the socialnetworks and interactions that keep us connected with others. &t waseven more corrosive than the income gap between rich and poor.

#s much as we complain about other people" there is nothing worsefor mental health than a social desert. he more connected we areto family and community" the less likely we are to e4perience heartattacks" strokes" cancer and depression. 0onnected people sleepbetter at night. hey live longer. hey consistently report beinghappier.

here is a clear connection between social deficit and the shape ofcities. # Swedish studyfound that people who endure more thana 95'minute commute were 9> more likely to divorce. -eople wholive in monofunctional" car'dependent neighbourhoods outsideurban centres are much less trusting of other people than peoplewho live in walkable neighbourhoods where housing is mi4ed withshops" services and places to work.# couple of $niversity of Lurich economists" Bruno rey and #lois

StutJer" compared Cerman commutersF estimation of the time it tookthem to get to work with their answers to the standard wellbeing,uestion" H3ow satisfied are you with your life" all thingsconsidered?H

heir finding was seemingly straightforward the longer the drive" theless happy people were. Before you dismiss this as numbinglyobvious" keep in mind that they were testing not for drivesatisfaction" but for life satisfaction. -eople were choosingcommutes that made their entire lives worse. StutJer and reyfound

that a person with a one'hour commute has to earn 9> moremoney to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the
http://www.samfak.umu.se/english/about-the-faculty/news/newsdetailpage/long-distance-commuters-get-divorced-more-often.cid160978http://ideas.repec.org/p/zur/iewwpx/151.htmlhttp://www.samfak.umu.se/english/about-the-faculty/news/newsdetailpage/long-distance-commuters-get-divorced-more-often.cid160978http://ideas.repec.org/p/zur/iewwpx/151.html


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office. :n the other hand" for a single person" e4changing a longcommute for a short walk to work has the same effect on happinessas finding a new love.Daniel Cilbert" 3arvard psychologist and author of Stumbling :n

3appiness" e4plained the commuting parado4 this way Host goodand bad things become less good and bad over time as we adapt tothem. 3owever" it is much easier to adapt to things that stayconstant than to things that change. So we adapt ,uickly to the %oyof a larger house" because the house is e4actly the same siJe everytime. But we find it difficult to adapt to commuting by car" becauseevery day is a slightly new form of misery.Hhe sad part is that the more we flock to high'status cities for thegood life @ money" opportunity" novelty @ the more crowded"e4pensive" polluted and congested those places become. heresult? Surveys show that 8ondoners are among the least happypeople in the $M" despite the city being the richest region in the $M.

FStop movinglong enough" and your muscles will atrophy. Bones will weaken. Blood will clot.F&llustration rancesco Bongiorni for the Cuardian

;hen we talk about cities" we usually end up talking about how

various places look" and perhaps how it feels to be there. But to stopthere misses half the story" because the way we e4perience mostparts of cities is at velocity we glide past on the way to somewhereelse. 0ity life is as much about moving through landscapes as it isabout being in them. Kobert Eudge" a 9*'year'old husband andfather" once wrote to a 0anadian radio show e4plaining how muchhe en%oyed going grocery shopping on his bicycle. EudgeFsconfession would have been unremarkable if he did not happen tolive in Saskatoon" Saskatchewan" where the average temperature inEanuary hovers around '(0. he city stays froJen and snowy foralmost half the year. EudgeFs pleasure in an e4perience that seems
http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~dtg/gilbert.htmhttp://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780007183135http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780007183135http://www.govtoday.co.uk/health/44-public-health/11410-london-least-happy-in-the-ukhttp://www.govtoday.co.uk/health/44-public-health/11410-london-least-happy-in-the-ukhttp://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~dtg/gilbert.htmhttp://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780007183135http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780007183135http://www.govtoday.co.uk/health/44-public-health/11410-london-least-happy-in-the-ukhttp://www.govtoday.co.uk/health/44-public-health/11410-london-least-happy-in-the-uk


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slower" more difficult and considerably more uncomfortable than thealternative might seem biJarre. 3e e4plained it by way of a storysometimes" he said" he would pick up his three'year'old son fromnursery and put him on the back seat of his tandem bike and they

would pedal home along the South Saskatchewan river. he snowwould muffle the noise of the city. Dusk would paint the sky incolours so e4,uisite that Eudge could not begin to find names forthem. he snow would reflect those hues. &t would glow like the sky"and Eudge would breathe in the cold air and hear his son breathingbehind him" and he would feel as though together they had becomepart of winter itself.

Drivers e4perience plenty of emotional dividends. hey reportfeeling much more in charge of their lives than public transport

users. #n upmarket vehicle is loaded with symbolic value that offersa powerful" if temporary" boost in status.


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volunteers answered survey ,uestions about their moods" attitudes"diet and happiness. ;ithin that volunteer group" people who walkedmore were happier.he same is true of cycling" although a bicycle has the added benefit

of giving even a laJy rider the ability to travel three or four timesfaster than someone walking" while using less than a ,uarter of theenergy. hey may not all attain EudgeFs level of transcendence" butcyclists report feeling connected to the world around them in a waythat is simply not possible in the sealed environment of a car" bus ortrain. heir %ourneys are both sensual and kinesthetic.

&n ()1)" a consortium of +uropean industrial interests charged ayoung #merican economist" +ric Britton" with figuring out howpeople would move through cities in the future. 0ities should strive

to embrace comple4ity" not only in transportation systems but inhuman e4perience" says Britton" who is still working in that field andlives in -aris. 3e advises cities and corporations to abandon oldmobility" a system rigidly organised entirely around one way ofmoving" and embrace new mobility" a future in which we would all befree to move in the greatest variety of ways.H;e all know old mobility"H Britton said. H&tFs you sitting in your car"stuck in traffic. &tFs you driving around for hours" searching for aparking spot. :ld mobility is also the 55'year'old woman with a bad

leg" waiting in the rain for a bus that she canFt be certain will come.=ew mobility" on the other hand" is freedom distilled.H

# row of Gelib rental bicycles are parked at therue de 8a 3arpe in -aris. DoJens of cities have now dabbled in shared bikeprogrammes" including 8ondon" ontreal" elbourne and =ew


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Bara. ;e paused by a row of sturdy'looking bicycles. Britton swepthis wallet above a metallic post and pulled one free from its berth.HEt voil!reedomNH he said" grinning. Since the -aris bikescheme" GOlibF" was introduced" it has utterly changed the face of

mobility. +ach bicycle in the GOlibF fleet gets used between three andnine times every day. hatFs as many as 2" trips a day. DoJensof cities have now dabbled in shared bike programmes" including8yon" ontreal" elbourne" =ew . hey arenFt choosing to cycle becauseof any deep'seated altruism or commitment to the environmentI theyare motivated by self'interest. Hhey %ust want to get themselvesfrom # to B"H 8indholm said" Hand it happens to be easier and,uicker to do it on a bike.H

he Bogot/ e4periment may not have made up for all the cityFsgrinding ine,uities" but it was a spectacular beginning and" to the

surprise of many" it made life better for almost everyone.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/aug/16/ethicalliving.francehttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/aug/16/ethicalliving.france


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he ransilenio moved so many people so efficiently that cardrivers crossed the city faster as well commuting times fell by a fifth.he streets were calmer. By the end of -ealosaFs term" peoplewere crashing their cars less often and killing each other less

fre,uently" too the accident rate fell by nearly half" and so did themurder rate" even as the country as a whole got more violent. herewas a massive improvement in air ,uality" too. Bogot/ns gothealthier. he city e4perienced a spike in feelings of optimism.-eople believed that life was good and getting better" a feeling theyhad not shared in decades.

Bogot/Fs fortunes have since declined. he ransilenio system isplagued by desperate crowding as its private operators fail to addmore capacity @ yet more proof that robust public transport needs

sustained public investment. :ptimism has withered. But Bogot/Fstransformative years still offer an enduring lesson for rich cities. Byspending resources and designing cities in a way that valueseveryoneFs e4perience" we can make cities that help us all getstronger" more resilient" more connected" more active and morefree. ;e %ust have to decide who our cities are for. #nd we have tobelieve that they can change.

Q his is an edited e4tract from 3appy 0ity ransforming :ur 8iveshrough $rban Design" by 0harles ontgomery" published by-enguin at R(1.)).

Q his article was edited on 9 =ovember 2(!" to make clear that itis an edited e4tract.

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