Study: A McMansion Can't Buy Happiness
Joe Pinsker shares news of a new study published by the Social Science Research Network finding that Americans aren't happier, despite the ever-increasing size of new homes in the country.
“Despite a major upscaling of single-family houses since 1980,” writes Clément Bellet, a postdoctoral fellow at the European business school INSEAD, “house satisfaction has remained steady in American suburbs.”
Bellet places blame for the lack of happiness on the same effect described by the saying "keeping up with the Joneses": it's all about comparisons. Pinsker explains: "By [Bellet's] calculation, if homes in the 90th percentile were 10 percent bigger, the neighbors would be less pleased with their own homes unless those homes grew 10 percent as well. Moreover, the homeowners most sensitive to such shifts are the ones whose houses are in the second-biggest tier, not the ones whose houses are median-sized."
The article includes more detail on the findings and methodology of the study, and the study's implications for the built environment.
Topics
- 4 Predictions for Urban Planning Post-Coronavirus
- Cities Are Suddenly a Little Less Car-Centric
- NACTO Releases Pandemic Streets Design Guide
- The Argument Against Accessory Dwelling Units
- Louisiana Coast Will Disappear, Study Says. The Only Question Is How Soon.
- California's Population Might Be Peaking
- Popularity of Opportunity Zone Program Grows During the Pandemic
- Proposed Mass Timber High-Rise In Seattle Adds Six Stories
- The Growing Footprint of Al Fresco Streets
- Electric Bike Sales Explode as Cities Rethink Streetscapes
- U.S. Supreme Court Rules on State-Imposed Social Distancing Restrictions
- The '30 by 30' Framework Sets an Ambitious Goal for Nature Conservation
- Post-Pandemic Era of Shopping Malls Creates Opportunities for Downtowns
- Commandeered Buses, System Shutdowns—Transit on the Frontlines of Protests
- Violence Against Black Americans a Moment of Reckoning for the Planning Profession
- The Urban Project: Urbanization, Urbanisms, and the Virus—A Historical Take
- Toronto's Expanded its Bike Infrastructure Network to Run Parallel to Transit Lines
- 20 Is Plenty in D.C., Starting Today
- Reopening California: Respected County Health Official Issues Warning
- Guide to Planning for Public Health, Published by WHO and the UN
