Hazel Borys shines today's PlaceShaker spotlight on "Happy City" by Charles Montgomery. Check it out and you'll be questioning our collective priorities in no time. C'mon get happy!
"Ever had one of those doctor’s visits in which your physician questions you in great detail about your family medical history? Trying to tease out the nebulous connections within your DNA to explain certain strengths, weaknesses, and anomalies. And then he uses that connecting thread to help solve something that’s been bothering you? Charles Montgomery does just that in his new book, Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design
"Montgomery ties the DNA of place back to its progenitors, and poses the question of how we might use the thread to design happier cities. From the agoras of Athens and Campus Martius of Rome up through North America’s Motordom and Futurama, Montgomery provides a pocket history of city planning via the user experience. Wielding satisfying story-telling with solid urban design analysis and case studies, he hones in on what matters to most of us: happiness. Our own, and those we care about."
Borys goes on to extract her favorite quotes from the book to incentivize us to dig deeper.
FULL STORY: Happy City Highlights
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research