Happy City

• The ancient Greeks had an idea of eudaemonia - human flourishing - that they aimed for. This was a goal in their collective consciousness rather than necessarily happiness.
• Relationships matter much more than income for happiness. For example, having 1 friend you can count on rather than none has the same effect on happiness as tripling someone's income.
• The number of people who respond 'yes' to 'if you dropped your wallet on the street would you get it back' is correlated with overall city happiness. Trust and relationships matter much more than wealth here too.
  • People's answer to the question has very little to do with actual return rates of wallet, and more to do with the quality of their social interactions with people in their neighbourhood. Happy cities build opportunities for social interaction.

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