Science of Happiness

Designing Our Way Out of Dystopia

What Design Professionals Stand to Learn from the 2023 World Happiness Report This piece was originally posted on the website of landscape architecture firm, Mahan Rykiel Associates. Imagine you are standing before a ladder with ten rungs, each step representing a degree of satisfaction with life. At the ground, you’re at the lowest point; but …

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The Importance of Lovability in the Places Where we Live

Will You Be My Valentine? The Importance of Lovability in Places Where we Live

Do you love where you live? If you do, then I just have to ask . . . “If you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?” If you think my question is facetious, you might be surprised to learn that in 2011, over 2,000 people gathered together in Durham, North Carolina, to …

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What if Gratitude Could be Found in an Actual Place?

Are you living in a place of gratitude? “A place of gratitude”—ever heard a phrase like this?  Yes, I understand it’s meant to be figurative, much in the same way I understand people aren’t typically talking about real spaces when advising that we “find your happy place.” But… What if gratitude could be found in …

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Happy NPC21

Today kicks off the American Planning Association’s 2021 National Planning Conference! I am thrilled to be co-presenting at this year’s conference with Tufts University professor and co-author of Cognitive Architecture, Dr. Justin Hollander. Here, you can find information and additional resources related to our session, Using Mental Health Considerations for Designing Places. Session Details: The …

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Experience is in the Eye of the Beholder

On the Significance of the Subjective Component  My Hello Happy design research grew from an instinctive recognition of the spatiality of places. Given this, I believe that urban designers and planners have the ability to manipulate the qualities of a place with the intent of positively influencing the sensations, perceptions, emotions, and decision-making of people encountering that …

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