What comes to mind when I say, "happy city"? Memories of packed downtown street parties during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics? A sunny summer picnic at Kits Beach? A rockin' free concert out in Stanley Park? A simple ride along the seawall around False Creek? “Free Hugs” on Robson Square?
Is there a link between human happiness and the ways in which cities are designed? Can we redesign our cities to maximize happiness? Join award-winning author and awesome Vancouverite Charles Montgomery as the Museum of Vancouver is transformed into a laboratory of happiness to celebrate the launch of Charles’ new book, Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design.
Earlier this fall, MOV challenged students from CityStudio, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and my own alma mater, SFU’s School of Interactive Art and Technology to create experiments and designs to test or boost feelings of trust and connection among total strangers. The time has come to test those imaginative designs, installations and social experiments that reveal new insights about ourselves and the city around us!
The Happy City Machine laboratory takes place this Saturday, Nov. 23rd from 1-4pm at the Museum of Vancouver and we’ve got prizes for 2 of our lucky readers!
- 1st prize is a copy of Happy City and 2 tickets to the Happy City Machine event.
- 2nd prize is 2 tickets to the Happy City Machine event.
Simply tweet or instagram a photo mentioning @VIAwesome of what ‘happy city’ means to you, and make sure to tag #happycity or #happycitymachine. The winners will be contacted the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 22nd so get those pictures in!
For more info, follow @thehappycity or @happycitymchn or visit thehappycity.com. To purchase tickets, visit Happy City Machine on Eventbrite.
Admission: With regular admission. Includes access to Play House: the architecture of Daniel Evan White | MOV Members free | Free for participating student designers and partner institution faculty. Space is limited.
See you there, and bring your smiles!
