--- product_id: 7072555 title: "Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design" price: "$32.06" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/7072555-happy-city-transforming-our-lives-through-urban-design store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # Sustainable Solutions Data-Driven Insights Urban Innovation Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design **Price:** $32.06 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🌍 Design Your Future: Where Urban Meets Innovation! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design - **How much does it cost?** $32.06 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/7072555-happy-city-transforming-our-lives-through-urban-design) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Data-Driven Design:** Utilize analytics to enhance urban planning and livability. - • **Global Perspectives:** Gain insights from cities around the world transforming urban life. - • **Empowering Communities:** Foster social connections through innovative public spaces. - • **Sustainability at Its Core:** Learn how eco-friendly practices shape our urban future. - • **Revolutionary Urban Concepts:** Explore cutting-edge designs that redefine city living. ## Overview Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design is a groundbreaking exploration of how innovative urban design can enhance our daily lives, promote sustainability, and foster community engagement. This book offers a wealth of data-driven insights and global perspectives, making it an essential read for anyone interested in the future of urban living. ## Description A globe-trotting, eye-opening exploration of how cities can―and do―make us happier people Charles Montgomery's Happy City is revolutionizing the way we think about urban life. After decades of unchecked sprawl, more people than ever are moving back to the city. Dense urban living has been prescribed as a panacea for the environmental and resource crises of our time. But is it better or worse for our happiness? Are subways, sidewalks, and condo towers an improvement on the car dependence of the suburbs? The award-winning journalist Charles Montgomery finds answers to such questions at the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness, during an exhilarating journey through some of the world's most dynamic cities. He meets the visionary mayor who introduced a "sexy" bus to ease status anxiety in Bogotá; the architect who brought the lessons of medieval Tuscan hill towns to modern-day New York City; the activist who turned Paris's urban freeways into beaches; and an army of American suburbanites who have hacked the design of their own streets and neighborhoods. Rich with new insights from psychology, neuroscience, and Montgomery's own urban experiments, Happy City reveals how cities can shape our thoughts as well as our behavior. The message is ultimately as surprising as it is hopeful: by retrofitting cities and our own lives for happiness, we can tackle the urgent challenges of our age. The happy city can save the world―and we can all help build it. Review: Interesting book - In depth, thought provoking book. Review: Great Book That Holds Your Attention - Throughly enjoyed this book. A lot of urban design books are written in a dry manner; Montgomery does a great job keeping attention through his prose. The stories were relevant and on point, if not a bit recycled for other sources. His assessment is strong, but you couldn't call it objective. He uses many points in the book to assert his position, mainly around how awful cars are (which, while I don't disagree, is getting old as a rant in these kinds of books). I highly recommend it for any urban studies nerd, and would encourage you to additionally read Walkable City and Street Smarts as companion pieces. Between those three books, they do a great job of giving you the history, the science, the statistics, and the possibilities for the future of smart, happy, walkable cities. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #29,149 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3 in City Planning & Urban Development #3 in Urban Planning and Development #6 in Sociology of Urban Areas | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,142 Reviews | ## Images ![Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/811oUgoWZzL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Interesting book *by S***Y on December 14, 2025* In depth, thought provoking book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Book That Holds Your Attention *by J***Y on January 23, 2016* Throughly enjoyed this book. A lot of urban design books are written in a dry manner; Montgomery does a great job keeping attention through his prose. The stories were relevant and on point, if not a bit recycled for other sources. His assessment is strong, but you couldn't call it objective. He uses many points in the book to assert his position, mainly around how awful cars are (which, while I don't disagree, is getting old as a rant in these kinds of books). I highly recommend it for any urban studies nerd, and would encourage you to additionally read Walkable City and Street Smarts as companion pieces. Between those three books, they do a great job of giving you the history, the science, the statistics, and the possibilities for the future of smart, happy, walkable cities. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book. Though the first third is boring. *by Z***U on February 3, 2014* Honestly first third of this book was hard to read. Too much philosophical questions. I wish there were more real-life examples and research between history and philosophy pages. But the rest of the book makes up for it. I was fascinated to read about how proper cities are done, and how such improvements bring life and new experience into citizens' lives. Living in post-USSR, I see a lot of examples of cities done wrong, not for people but for military parades. So it was like a fresh air to read the thoughts I often had about problems that each one encounters in modern city life, and see these problems solved in communities around the world. I really hope author does not give up on this topic, and will bring us more insight in how happy cities work and how they are built, hopefully with more examples from real cities all over the world. Thank you for your hard work and good read, Charles. ## Frequently Bought Together - Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design - Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (Tenth Anniversary Edition) - The Death and Life of Great American Cities --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/7072555-happy-city-transforming-our-lives-through-urban-design](https://www.desertcart.us/products/7072555-happy-city-transforming-our-lives-through-urban-design) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-06-09*