Almost every year, we see new cities, regions, and countries that make the list(s) of our planet’s happiest and healthiest places to reside and visit. Since World Happiness Day occurred on March 20th, it seems timely to take a closer look at what makes residents of an area happy and how governmental bodies can help recognize what makes the area that they control “happy, healthy, and satisfied.”
The United Nations and other entities generally assess how content local populations are by examining (through mostly unscientific polling) six key factors that impact a population’s happiness. It is theorized that health, income, generosity, absence of corruption, social support, and freedom are significant markers of how happy residents of a geographic area are. The surveys also look at the ages of a population and the environmental and public safety benefits of an area. We know that there is a significant age indicator in the happiest quotient. People born before 1965 are happier on average than those born after 1980. Economic factors certainly influence the happiness we feel. Conversely, the people labeled Millennials or Gen Z are more likely to help their fellow humans in need than the previous generations. Happiness is a vast combination of factors, and the combined results lead to happier, healthier cities, regions, and countries.
Niche.com riffs on the United Nations’ happiest index by also categorizing the cost of living, access to higher education, housing, diversity, crime and safety, family-friendly living, available quality of jobs, outdoor activities, walkability, commute, weather, and other environmental factors for various United States neighborhoods and cities. The Niche.com methodology takes a closer look at the overall livability of an area by examining census data, FBI annual crime reports, average income, housing prices, and the happiness of the places they look at.
Let’s bear down on our city, Santa Monica, using the United Nations and Niche.com results of what we can surmise about our hometown. Niche.com states that the City Center (Mid City Neighborhood) area of Santa Monica is the 5th best area in the nation. It extols our public schools, population diversity, nightlife, family-friendly environment, and dense urban feel. The grading scale for this narrow portion of our town (4,332 residents out of 93,000 people) gives a C+ score on housing due to the proliferation of rental housing over home ownership, the high cost of the rental housing ($2719/month), and a negative score on safety. It is important to note that, as a city, Santa Monica does not rate well on a national level in the Niche.com survey.
The United Nations scale examines several factors self-assessed by the populations in the countries they study. In other words, how self-satisfied are you in the place you live? The top five countries are 5. Netherlands, 4. Sweden, 3. Iceland, 2. Denmark, and 1. Finland. Excellent social services, a minimum of homelessness, long life expectancy, a very low crime rate, a great connection to nature, environmental quality, and freedom of choice are all significant factors in Finland being the premier place to be happy in our world. What can we do in Santa Monica to make our small but significant city happier?
Santa Monica is a primarily affluent city with excellent public transportation and a high walkability score. Great public schools, universities, and colleges abound in our vicinity. We are surrounded by incredible natural beauty, and the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Mountains are adjacent. We are perhaps one of the world’s most significant centers for the arts, and the creative energy is palpable. However, the social ill of homelessness, the high propensity of crime against residents and visitors, the decrease in our tree canopy, increased density, lack of civility in our civil discourse, and extreme pollution in our air and ocean disrupt the happiness index in Santa Monica.
Many factors that exist in the world’s happiest countries can’t be adequately measured here because Santa Monica is not an island. It becomes difficult to compare due to the breadth of the impact of the Los Angeles Metro area on Santa Monica. We can look at the countries and cities ranked much higher and note that our city’s municipal state can be a measure of satisfaction. Santa Monica battles homelessness on an extreme level, and the insecurity of walking our streets hurts resident and visitor satisfaction. Our town has felt these impacts on retail and dining establishments for decades. The condition of our excellent parks, another measure of resident satisfaction, has been undermined by the lack of decisive action by the city, county, and state governments to keep them safe and clean.
The plight of homeless individuals lying…and dying on the streets of Santa Monica has also destroyed the positive energy of a walkable, compassionate city. The continuous bombardment of external air noise and pollution from the incessant sirens, planes, helicopters, and freeway traffic (the 10 & PCH) provide constant stress. Our beach and ocean are increasingly polluted due to the damage from the Palisades fire, and our government’s decades-long inability to stop polluting the water at the Pier and around our storm drains impacts residents. They are rightfully concerned about whether the government cares about the quality of their lives. Air, water, and noise pollution all hurt the happiness of our city and the region.
The gaps in funding public safety have led to property owners building higher fences and securing their premises with cameras, alarm systems, and private security companies. Yet, most of our residents reside in apartments where that level of additional security is impossible. The gaps between the “haves and have-nots” have also led to social division in the city. The residents of the happiest cities in the world reside in an environment where residents work together to solve problems that affect the common good. In Santa Monica, we often see artificial divides created by political and class animosity.
We have an incredibly compassionate populace in Santa Monica, but bleeding hearts have not made a real dent in the societal problems that affect us. The price of housing for all age and economic groups is inequitable because of, as they say in the real estate business, “location, location, location.” Yet the location provides the most extraordinary natural gifts that, if utilized properly, can lead to a healthy, safe, and happy community.
Given that our city faces some of the most significant financial challenges in our almost 150-year municipal history, we need to emphasize the advantages of our location and our unique lifestyle by aligning closely with our strong culture of the arts that helps drive our city’s economy. We must make our streets safer for all, not by constantly “calming” our roads and condemning car culture, but by allowing all modes of transportation to be as seamless as possible. The mark of reviving downtown Santa Monica must be the ease of arriving to shop in our downtown and shopping districts. Accessing our shops, restaurants, and movie theaters must not be a tedious chore. Free or discounted parking that is easy to use and plentiful will encourage a renaissance in downtown Santa Monica. That renaissance will lead to a happier city that is safer and cleaner. Those are also marks of a smiling, happy populace.
Look to other cities worldwide that are genuinely trying to please residents, from towns with vibrant public arts (concerts, public art exhibitions, and the preservation of significant public facilities) to cities encouraging more gatherings in their downtown by reducing parking impediments. Above all, safety is the key to reclaiming happiness in Santa Monica. In addition, the Santa Monica government feels that stacking additional fees, taxes, and impediments to individual success is proper. Researching the happiest cities suggests that these extra burdens, added to the fabric of Santa Monica’s life, do not encourage happiness. Indeed, it adds more stress to an unforgiving, highly urban lifestyle.
Our city needs to aim to de-stress the lives of our fortunate residents. If the residents of Santa Monica feel safe, happy, and healthy, our visitors will feel the passion of the people who reside here, and the enthusiasm will be contagious. We can emulate the success of the happiest, healthiest cities and countries in the world, but a shift in attitude is necessary. Let’s be a city with clean beaches, healthy sea life, an abundance of trees, safe parks, a feeling of overall security, happy kids, grateful seniors, and an attitude of helping each other to live better lives here in Santa Monica.
Phil Brock, Santa Monica Mayor (ret)
SMart (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow)
Robert H. Taylor AIA; Dan Jansenson; Thane Roberts; Mario Fonda-Bonardi AIA; Samuel Tolkin, Architect & Planning Commissioner; Michael Jolly, AIR-CRE; Jack Hillbrand AIA, Architect & Landmarks Commissioner; Daniel Jansenson, Architect, Building & Fire-Life Safety Commission
