The beachfront town known for its surfers and celebrities is collecting data that dig deeper than traditional measures of economic prosperity, and the results may be surprising.

Jessica Leber writes, "It’s not mysterious what makes people happy." Yet, how to improve a city’s quality of life remains elusive. With a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the city of Santa Monica has embarked on an innovative approach to understanding what makes communities thrive, with the goal of improving well-being for its 89,000 residents.
For two years, the city has been working with the RAND Corporation, the New Economics Foundation, and various experts to collect data on well-being. Countries such as Bhutan and Chile have built models of happiness research using various socio-economic indicators. The project in Santa Monica is unique in that it is focused at an extremely local level and includes surveys of residents and social media data. As stated on the project's website, "It's easy to figure out if there's less crime than there was last month or last year. It's a little harder to know if we're feeling more fulfilled than we were last week."
The Index includes six categories: Outlook, Community, Place, Learning, Health, and Opportunity. "The results were surprising to the city, which always prided itself on its higher voter rates and volunteering rates than other parts of the state and the nation," Leber writes. While Santa Monica residents enjoy higher-than-average levels of outdoor activity and a high sense of pride in their natural environment, when it comes to "community," residents of Santa Monica fare lower than the national average: only 56 percent of residents feel they can "count on their neighbors" compared to 80 percent in a national survey. Furthermore, while 70 percent report being "happy most or all of the time," 28 percent report feeling stressed most or all of the time.
FULL STORY: Can You Run A City Based On Happiness?

The Slow Death of Ride Sharing
From the beginning, TNCs like Lyft and Uber touted shared rides as their key product. Now, Lyft is ending the practice.

Cool Walkability Planning
Shadeways (covered sidewalks) and pedways (enclosed, climate controlled walkways) can provide comfortable walkability in hot climates. The Cool Walkshed Index can help plan these facilities.

Congestion Pricing Could Be Coming to L.A.
The infamously car-centric city is weighing a proposed congestion pricing pilot program to reduce traffic and encourage public transit use.

How San Diego Camping Ban Could Impact Neighborhoods
An ordinance supported by the city’s mayor would bar people from sleeping on the street near shelters or services, but critics say it will simply push people to other neighborhoods and put them farther away from the supportive services they need.

Expanding Access to Golf in South Los Angeles
L.A. County’s Maggie Hathaway Golf Course getting up to $15 Million from U.S. Open Community Legacy Project to expand access to the sport in South L.A.

Opinion: Failed Housing Bills Could Signal California-Style Housing Crisis in Texas
Legislators in a state that so often touts its policies as the opposite of California’s defeated several bills that would have made housing construction easier, leading to concerns that a constricted housing market may exacerbate the housing crisis.
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Bangor
Park City Municipal Corporation
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.