The first ever World Happiness Report, published by Columbia University's Earth Institute, reflects a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and absence of misery as criteria for government policy.
Commissioned by the UN General Assembly for today's United Nations Conference on Happiness, the report "reviews the state of happiness in the world today and shows how the new science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness."
According to the findings of the report, "the happiest countries in the world are all in Northern Europe (Denmark, Norway, Finland, Netherlands). Their average life evaluation score is 7.6 on a 0-to-10 scale. The least happy countries are all poor countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Togo, Benin, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone) with average life evaluation scores of 3.4."
Although relative wealth is a clear component in the report's findings, other factors are equally crucial in determining happiness. "Political freedom, strong social networks and an absence of corruption are together more important than income in explaining well-being differences between the top and bottom countries."
Why is it important to measure happiness? According to Stewart Patrick, "In recent years, a small but influential group of economists has concluded that traditional measurements of national progress, typically couched in terms of per capita Gross National Product (GNP), don't actually tell us much about the wellbeing of citizens...In fact, as pioneering researchers like Carol Graham of the Brookings Institution and the University of Maryland have shown, there's little correlation between national income and contentment. Some of the highest levels of happiness have been recorded in low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, for example."
FULL STORY: First World Happiness Report Launched at the United Nations

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service