Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission and vision
    • Need and opportunity
    • Our people
    • Friends and Partners
    • Join us
  • Learn
    • Facts and Figures
    • What is mental health?
    • How the city affects mental health
    • How mental health affects the city
    • How urban design can impact mental health
    • Mind the GAPS Framework
    • How to measure mental health
    • Courses
  • Book
  • Cities
  • Journal
    • Edition 1
    • Edition 2
    • Edition 3
    • Edition 4
    • Edition 5
    • Edition 6
    • Submit to Journal
  • Events
    • Washington DC Dialogue
    • London Dialogue
    • Tokyo Dialogue
    • Hong Kong Dialogue
  • News
  • PRESS
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission and vision
    • Need and opportunity
    • Our people
    • Friends and Partners
    • Join us
  • Learn
    • Facts and Figures
    • What is mental health?
    • How the city affects mental health
    • How mental health affects the city
    • How urban design can impact mental health
    • Mind the GAPS Framework
    • How to measure mental health
    • Courses
  • Book
  • Cities
  • Journal
    • Edition 1
    • Edition 2
    • Edition 3
    • Edition 4
    • Edition 5
    • Edition 6
    • Submit to Journal
  • Events
    • Washington DC Dialogue
    • London Dialogue
    • Tokyo Dialogue
    • Hong Kong Dialogue
  • News
  • PRESS
  • Contact

SANITY AND URBANITY BLOG

If you are an academic, urban designer, planner, health professional or citymaker, and would like to submit a blog, please see submission guidelines.

The World Happiness Report and Implications for Urban Design

3/21/2016

3 Comments

 
by Ingrid Bremer, UD/MH Associate
 
To coincide with World Happiness Day this week, the latest World Happiness Report has just been published. The Report surveys people in 156 countries to better understand the national and regional distribution of 'happiness' and identify global 'happiness inequalities'. Of course 'happiness' is a complex term - the report defines it as an evaluation of self-reported quality of life satisfaction. Six key variables were used to help explain international variation in happiness: GDP per capita, social support, healthy years of life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption.
Picture
Countries found to have the highest ranking of happiness (2013 – 2015) included Denmark (1), Switzerland (2), Iceland (3), Norway (4) and Finland (5). The countries with the lowest rankings of happiness were Benin (153), Afghanistan (154), Togo (155), Syria (156) and Burundi (157). Full results here.

While the World Happiness Report does not measure mental health per se, the Report has some interesting findings. Social support, income and healthy years of life expectancy were found to be the largest contributors to the differences in happiness between the top 10 and bottom 10 countries. In particular, the underlying social fabric of a society, including quality of social capital, was found to be integral to resilience in the face of a crisis, such as an economic crisis or natural disaster; indeed, in the event of such a crisis, the Report suggests that where there is good social support, people’s happiness may actually increase as a function of being able to work together with others towards a common good.
 
The rise in scientific and policy interest in sustainable happiness is evident. Countries such as Bhutan, Ecuador, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela have even designated ministers to coordinate their national efforts, and the concept of achieving ‘happy’ populations is increasingly a focus of citymakers around the world. By underlining the importance of good social support in achieving population-level happiness, this Report shows the potential for urban designers to play an active role in helping improve happiness in communities through pro-social design that enables opportunities for positive social interactions among local communities. This #WorldHappinessDay that's worth thinking about.

About the Author

Picture
Ingrid Bremer is a physician with a special interest in mental health. Trained at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She has recently graduated with a Masters degree in Global Health from Georgetown University, US. Ingrid is interested in the built environment and children's mental health. She is a UD/MH Research Associate. Contact her @IngridPienk
3 Comments
Chris bezuidenhout
3/21/2016 10:08:43 am

Baie geluk met jou puik navorsing, Ingrid. Dit was baie interresant. Voorspoed en groot sukses op jou pad vorentoe word jou toegewens. Oom Chris & tannie Brenda

Reply
Trudi Koeleman
3/21/2016 11:57:12 am

Baie geluk Ingrid! Jy doen pragtige werk. Sukses en hou so aan. van 'n vriendin van jou ma, Trudi.

Reply
Rex Botha
3/22/2017 05:52:51 am

Baie trots op jou Ingrid, jy is in die diepte van mens wees en behoeftes vir geluk en voorspoed in die lewe.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Sanity and Urbanity: 
    a UD/MH blog

    Reading, seeing, thinking and doing urban design to improve mental health. 

    Archives

    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.