How can cities turn vacant land into places to gather? Read about how a local resident turned a vacant lot in his hometown of Tysons, Virginia into a bustling beer garden, and how other suburbs could follow suit. 🍻🤝 happycities.com/blog/tysons-...

How a beer garden is transforming vacant land in Tysons, VA — Happy Cities

Vacant land risks undermining suburban redevelopment plans. Tysons, VA found a solution: beer gardens, shipping containers, and family-friendly pop-ups.

happycities.com

Can movie nights and picnics make communities safer? 🍿 In Newton, a neighbourhood in Surrey, Canada, residents used to feel unsafe in public spaces. Now, they celebrate community through activities, art, and games. 🖼️ Read more: happycities.com/blog/surrey-...

Can picnic tables & string lights make people happier? ✨ @en.ottawa.ca transformed streets with seating, greenery & art—and found people were more open to making new friends! 👫 Planning a #placemaking project this summer? Try our Public Life Study tool! happycities.com/public-life-study-tool

Public life study tool — Happy Cities

happycities.com

Welcome to Kindred! A six home houseplex in the heart of walkable, bikeable, transitable VicWest in #yyj. These homes took 30 months for rezoning and permitting and 18 months to build. Now this building is home to 15 adults and children of all ages. www.lapishomes.com/projects/633...

What happens when a city is designed for tourists rather than locals? When places focus only on maximizing visitors + spending, quality of life tends to suffer: housing costs rise, congestion grows, locals feel frustrated. We believe there's a better approach: happycities.com/blog/look-we...

What the Look West tourism plan means for BC municipalities — Happy Cities

Five destination planning strategies for municipalities to attract visitors while supporting community wellbeing.

happycities.com

Thank you for this terrific visual summary of Happy City, George Liu! youtu.be/x4Sdtme0dN4?...

Can better city design improve your happiness? | Happy City by Charles Montgomery

YouTube video by Urban Mobility Explained

youtu.be

Could walkable neighbourhoods and efficient transit be part of Las Vegas' future? A Vegas roadmap for making suburbs more walkable: happycities.com/blog/las-veg...

How Las Vegas is redesigning suburbs for walkability — Happy Cities

How do you transform a suburb into a walkable place? Las Vegas is betting on “catalytic redevelopment”—creating one great place that people love spending time in.

happycities.com

Jessica Barrett charts the connection between crappy modern housing and social isolation. There's a way out. As @heyneighbourcollective.ca and @happycities.com demonstrate, we can design housing that actually nurtures friendly connections. Read on... thewalrus.ca/cramped-cond... via @thewalrus

Bad Housing Is Turning Us into Bad Neighbours | The Walrus

We’re growing lonely, with no ties to the people next door

thewalrus.ca

Join @heyneighbourcollective.ca on March 6th from 10 am-11:30 am PST for the next #Housing That Connects Us webinar, where Stacy Barter, Jenny Konkin, and Claudine Matlo will explore 'Innovative Programs to Build Social Connection in Housing'. www.heyneighbourcollective.ca/2026/02/hous...

Join us for the next ‘Housing That Connects Us’ webinar: Innovative Community Programs to Build Social Connection in Housing

The critical role of community-driven programs.

heyneighbourcollective.ca

⏳Deadline is just a 1 WEEK away! Submit your proposal to present at the 5th International #PlacemakingWeek in📍Detroit, MI! ✍🏽 Submit yours today! www.placemakingweek.org #PlacemakingWeek #Detroit #Placemaking #DowntownDet #DowntownDetroit #WeMakeItHappenTogether

Is Halloween the ultimate placemaking? We visited some local streets to find out 👻 Read more in our latest newsletter: mailchi.mp/happycities/... Join our newsletter community: happycities.com/newsletter

Spooky homes and happy cities

What Halloween can teach us about happiness and disconnection

mailchi.mp

Canada is spending millions on an ambitious affordable housing program. If we design right, we can solve the affordability crisis and the social disconnection crisis at the same time! Crucial lessons from @happycities.com for Minister @gregorrobertson.bsky.social happycities.com/blog/afforda...

How Build Canada Homes can go beyond affordability — Happy Cities

What Canada can learn from non-market housing communities about social connection, health, and belonging.

happycities.com

The 44th Vancouver International Film Festival kicks off today! We're excited to be sponsoring a series of short films at #VIFF2025, portraying snapshots of daily life from cities around the world. We hope to see you there! Learn more & get tickets: viff.org/whats-on/vif...

Short Forum 6: City slickin' | VIFF 2025

Shorts from: Canada, France, Jordan, Spain, USA.

viff.org

A thriving arts & culture scene contributes to healthy, vibrant communities 🎥 The 44th Vancouver International Film Festival is on from Oct 2–12. We're excited to be helping to support #VIFF2025. Check out the lineup of 172+ feature films, 97 shorts, and 128+ premieres! Details: viff.org/festival

VIFF 2025 | Vancouver International Film Festival

VIFF 2025 runs Oct 2-12, showcasing the best cinema from around the globe, talks, conferences, live performances and other unique events that celebrate film and film culture.

viff.org

"More than just a way to address social isolation and remedy cultural disconnection, [Vancouver's] plazas could become a blueprint for more people-friendly outdoor infrastructure." vancouversun.com/news/local-n...

Vancouver's popular pop-up plazas becoming permanent fixtures

Plazas and public spaces: what are we getting right, and where are we going wrong?

vancouversun.com

How we design better neighbourhoods for aging communities? We're excited to share an updated version of our dementia-inclusive planning and design guidelines, this time with a broader focus on age-friendly communities 👪 Learn more: happycities.com/blog/new-gui...

New guidelines for age- and dementia-inclusive neighbourhoods  — Happy Cities

Learn the unique planning and design considerations for older adults and people living with dementia through a free online course.

happycities.com

What makes some spaces feel safer than others? The answer might be simpler than you think. Read about the power of placemaking to nurture safer community spaces: mailchi.mp/happycities/...

How do we design safer public spaces?

Rapid, small-scale investments may hold the key to more vibrant, safe places

mailchi.mp

What makes a street feel safe and welcoming? In Surrey, Canada, placemaking helped a community rebuild its sense of safety after a tragic loss—showing that even simple changes can have a big impact. Read the full story: happycities.com/blog/surrey-...

Movie nights, picnics, and art: How Surrey, BC is creating safer public spaces — Happy Cities

To create safer neighbourhoods, offer inviting and vibrant places for community members to gather.

happycities.com

Social spaces are just as important as water and electricity for healthy, resilient communities. Why don't we provide them with the same consistency? Our latest story makes the case for a more rigorous approach to social infrastructure: happycities.com/blog/the-cas...

The case for social infrastructure — Happy Cities

Social spaces and networks create an essential foundation for healthy, resilient communities. But they’re hard to measure.

happycities.com

Like trees in a forest, we are healthier when old and young live together and exchange energy with one another. Beautiful essay by Tessa McWatt: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/2d66089...

Canada must reimagine intergenerational life

Intergenerational spaces normalize mortality and honour the aging journey alongside the vibrancy of youth

theglobeandmail.com

People feel less lonely in buildings that invite neighbours to connect. Whether a cozy seating nook next to an apartment hallway or a shared courtyard, the homes we live in can help fight social isolation and build more connected, resilient communities: www.nationalgeographic.com/health/artic...

How to design a city to improve your mental health—according to science

Experts say small changes in our neighborhoods—like where we sit, walk, or congregate—can make a big difference in how connected we feel to those around us.

nationalgeographic.com

Our hearts go out to everyone—people, families, and Filipino community members—affected by the devastating tragedy at the Lapu Lapu Day celebration in Vancouver this past weekend.

I love this story on building age-friendly housing from Michelle Gagnon-Creeley on the team at @happycities.com Deeply moving, and also very practical! happycities.com/blog/what-ma...

What makes an age-friendly home? — Happy Cities

Canada’s population is aging. Our homes need to catch up.

happycities.com

What kind of home do you envision for yourself as you grow older? Our latest story shares four strategies for age-friendly homes (drawing on our work with @heyneighbourcollective.ca): happycities.com/blog/what-ma...

What makes an age-friendly home? — Happy Cities

Canada’s population is aging. Our homes need to catch up.

happycities.com

We recently joined Cities for Everyone w/ @penalosag.bsky.social to explore the power of #placemaking for happier, healthier, more inclusive communities ✨ Watch here for the full recording, with inspiring stories, free resources, and evidence: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cin2...

Emma Avery & Leah Karlberg • The Power of Placemaking: Creating Happier Cities from the Ground Up

YouTube video by Penalosa_G

youtube.com

What makes an age-friendly home? Our latest newsletter explores: mailchi.mp/happycities/... As always, you can join us here! happycities.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

What makes an age-friendly home?

These innovative housing ideas will keep you in good health for longer.

mailchi.mp

The housing crisis and the loneliness crisis can be solved at the same time: Modular construction Canadian wood Pro-social designs Faster approvals for market + nonmarket supply @happycities.com Madeleine Herbert joins experts in Dan Fumano's excellent story: vancouversun.com/business/rea...

B.C. housing innovators striving for faster, cheaper homes — and happier residents

Homegrown innovations, like prefabricated mass timber parts and policies that promote well-being, are contributing to 'happier' housing.

vancouversun.com

Yes, apartment buildings can be designed in ways that are BETTER for children and seniors than detached homes. Another banger from @happycities.com This one includes a link to the age-friendly housing design toolkit. mailchi.mp/happycities/...

What makes an age-friendly home?

These innovative housing ideas will keep you in good health for longer.

mailchi.mp

Socially connected homes not only connect us with neighbours—they offer private, comfortable places to recharge. Download our new housing design toolkit w/ @heyneighbourcollective.ca to design social homes: happycities.com/building-soc... 📸 Driftwood Village Cohousing (Cornerstone Architecture)

Honoured to see our founder @charlesincities.bsky.social, on the @vancouvermagazine.bsky.social Power 50 list, along with some of our heroes—Leslie Shieh, Mark Shieh, Marianne Amodio—for their impactful work on building happier, more socially connected homes: www.vanmag.com/city/power-5...

Introducing Vanmag’s 2025 Power 50 List - Vancouver Magazine

To be clear: this list isn’t about highlighting only those in power. […]

vanmag.com