Vancouver Magazine
February 6, 2025
Kim McLane
Charles Montgomery put Vancouver on the international map a decade ago with his book Happy City, which focused on how to use urban design to create more connections among residents and visitors. Montgomery, a journalist, created the consulting company Happy Cities following that. Happy Cities has since worked with developers and city planners around Metro Vancouver on everything from tools for city planners to policies that promote social engagement in new housing (done together with Hey Neighbour Collective) to strategies for Vancouver seniors’ housing and private multi-family projects to ideas for better use of streets and laneways everywhere. (And somehow Montgomery has found time to write a soon-to-be-published book about how to build social trust.) Mark and Leslie Shieh at Tomo Spaces complement the Happy Cities approach with their work on unusual housing and public-space projects, including Our Urban Village, a co-housing project in central Vancouver (designed by architect Marianne Amodio, #23) that Happy Cities is studying to assess its impact on its residents’ sense of well-being. Happy days may be here again.