The Importance of Beauty

A study by Richard Florida and others concludes that the beauty of a place is a highly significant factor in community satisfaction.

1 minute read

December 10, 2009, 2:00 PM PST

By Tim Halbur


Alanah Heffez writes, "Through cluster analysis, Florida's study found that people who described their community as a beautiful place also rated their neighbourhoods positively in terms of outdoor activities (like parks, playgrounds and trails) which suggests that the participants perceived naturey places as more beautiful.

But is there an innate attraction to living near nature? (Note that access to outdoor activities ranked 6th and physical beauty ranked 2nd terms of importance). Can we build places that satisfy our desire for beauty? Or perhaps a better question would be: can we define a kind of beauty that fits our desire for urban living?"

Monday, December 7, 2009 in SpacingMontreal

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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