Urban Happiness Project

Dundee, Scotland

Melbourne School of Design Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning

I always love quirky sculptures in unusual urban settings and think how much people enjoy these especially children. I came across this by accident and I wondered if anyone had to campaign to get a church to agree with placing these five penguins on church property?

URBAN HAPPINESS PROJECT

– Trevor, Graduate Diploma of Town and Regional Planning Alumni

Spiaggia Libera, Camogli, Italy Places like this are places where we can all go and share. Bodies of water bring us together regardless of class, age, race and gender. They appeal to our senses. Do you see the woman laying on her stomach at the shore line just letting the tide wash over her? To me, this place symbolises the simple pleasures in life. It is hot, noisy and colourful. When we're in places like this, we can forget about our worries in life.

– Anna, Master of Urban Planning Alumni

“The city has always been a happiness project...”

- Happy City, Charles Montgomery (2013)

Merryn’s Garden, Melbourne

Urban happiness is a term coined to define the urban places that put a smile on our faces. These are places that deliver more than just emotions of joy, but also greater wellbeing, sense of belonging and resilience.

Join us as we explore the urban happiness stories from some of our Urban Planning and Urban Design students, staff and alumni.

Scan the QR codes to find out where these places are around the world!

This project was curated on the unceded lands of the Kulin Nation and we pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. We extend our respects to First Nations Peoples and Cultures where this project may be read from.

There is a softness in the garden it is an overgrown delight

Zurich, Sweden This is a sauna built on the lake where I got rid of all the fatigue from a long journey. I enjoyed the cityscape here while soaking myself in the lake and interacting with the locals. This place was a refresh for my mind and body.

– Shinya, Master of Urban Planning Student

the radio hums, to fears restrung by branches chewed, rogue pumpkins new you listen while I yammer (GnT in hand) under fading mandarin light your excitement felt, as ice cubes melt only for what truly serves me – Merryn, Master of Urban Planning Student

Merri Creek, Fitzroy North, Melbourne The creek near my house never fails to make me feel calm and appreciative of the lovely neighbourhood I live in. It is always refreshing to be reminded of the things that stay the same; the flowing river, the dogs enjoying their walk, the growing trees and the cyclists pedalling by.

– Ella, Master of Urban Planning Student

Frementle, Western Australia Mt Dandenong, Melbourne Fremantle is such a cute city in WA with a beautiful coastline, fun indie bookshops, and international food scene (awesome laksa)!

This photo shows the first sunset of 2021 and this lookout allows an uninterrupted view of Melbourne, which made me feel an overwhelming sense of relief and excitement to what this new year would bring. We had just come out of the strict lockdown in Victoria and this scene represented for me the beginning of a happier time, a new chance for better self care and mental health. Looking over that sunset was so surreal yet so warm and comforting.

New Delhi Capital Region, India It is my Nana & Nani's house where I grew up visiting, learnt how to love and share. It’s where I feel complete and soulful. It taught me the difference between a home and a house. Their souls inhabit this home.

– Anonymous

Princes' Hill, Melbourne

*Nana & Nani = Maternal Grandparents

This would have been a road but now is an open space (albeit paved), available for bike parking and active recreation for the students of the adjacent school. It is a highly suitable re-appropriate of road space and there should be more of it.

– Shruti, Master of Urban Planning Student

– Radhika, Master of Urban Design Student

– Dr Geoff, Tutor (Teaching Periodic) in Urban Planning

Brunswick, Melbourne Notting Hill, Melbourne I love this spot in Brunswick just off Sydney Road. It's a bright reminder of how urban nature brings color and life to mundane spaces like street corners.

– Ariana, Master of Urban Planning Alumni

This is my home, I grew up here. I know the people, the businesses, the buildings, the trees, the pets, and the history. I feel a sense of safety, nostalgia, and playfulness, as many of my childhood memories took place here. This place will always be my favourite, no matter what.

– Lisa, Master of Urban Planning Alumni

Kowloon City, Hong Kong Whenever I visit my grandparents in Hong Kong, I always stop by Kung Wo (公和), a local tofu shop that sells tofu pudding (豆腐花), one of my comfort foods. Before it shut down during COVID, it has been in business since dad was young and it's warming to know that we can share stories and memories through food. *豆腐花 (dou-foo-fah) = a Chinese dessert made with soft tofu.

In Hong Kong, it is normally served with sugar syrup or yellow sugar.

Merri Creek, Melbourne From neighbourhood picnics in the park to bin nights during lockdown where everyone gets dressed up to take their bin out for runs along the creek, passing by spoonville set up by the local children, couples, dogs, grandparents, random neighbourhood chilli swaps, and climbers on the bridge. I simply love the communal feel in my neighbourhood and the access to nature so close by.

– Alison, Master of Urban Planning Student

Ningbo City, ZheJiang Province, China

Photos from N.Chiu (Timeout Hong Kong, 2020)

Kensington, Melbourne

– Vincent, Master of Urban Planning Student

Melbourne CBD A planning theorist's adventure over Melbourne on a Saturday morning. This photo was taken while I enjoyed a flight over Melbourne with fellow transport planning academics, one of whom has a pilot's licence. Many photos of roads and rail stabling yards were also taken while on this flight, in case you were wondering.

I have lived near Kensington Station my whole life, and it was always somewhere that you just pass through. Now, after the remodelling and upgrade works, people stop and sit in the grass, kick a footy, have a coffee, or organise a picnic here. It is so nice to see, and feels like a very warm space.

– Rechelle, Master of Urban Planning Student

– Crystal, Associate Professor of Urban Planning Photos from Nearmaps, 2021

Ningbo is my hometown. It’s a coastal city that has great social spaces and natural environments. It has the best combinations of historical buildings with modern elements.

– Hang, Master of Urban Design Student

Flemington, Melbourne

Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne

It is the comfort and joy found within a bowl of heart-warming beef pho, my all-time favourite food, that brings me joy. It is the moments, conversations, interactions, and countless hours spent with friends and family that make Pho House a meaningful place.

What Are Those Parrots?

The waves on the air told me You and your friends are here The trees have filled your pantry Your delight fills my ears Your tigermoth arcs in sky belie Your smoker’s cough chatter People ask “what are those parrots?”

The answers suddenly matter I long to understand your words As you take-off as one Your evening jackets unfurl to show Your tail of the sun

Oi Man Estate, Hong Kong I grew up in Oi Man Estate, a public housing estate in Hong Kong. I really enjoyed the vertical urban life. The units were designed back-to-back, with access via a corridor. My kindergarten was on the 4th floor and the supermarket was on the 1st floor.

All my friends in kindergarten lived in the same building. I took the lift to visit all my friends every day.

– Milita, Master of Urban Planning Student

Manila, Philippines

– Matt, PhD Candidate and Tutor, Urban Planning Illustrated by Sika Manteaw, 2021

– Koko, Master of Urban Planning Alumni

Hakone, Japan My parents lived in Tokyo (where I was born) for eight years before migrating to Australia.

During their time they never left the city to explore other parts of Japan as they were constantly working. 20 or so years later we went back to Japan as a family. Hakone was one of the first places outside of Tokyo that my parents visited. It's a fond memory of mine and a place where I saw my parents relax from their busy lives.

– Jimmy, Master of Urban Planning Student

Merri Creek, Melbourne Merri Creek, on Wurundjerri Country, just upstream of Yarra River – Birrarung. It flows between escarpment walls, and across a rocky creek-bed. Ducks surf the rapids.

– Judy, Lecturer in Urban Planning

Coming to Intramuros, in the centre of Manila, always feels magical. It is like being transported to a different place and time. The historic district, with its grand colonial buildings and magnificent gardens, are emblematic of Manila’s pre-war grandeur; an age when it was often referred to as “The Pearl of the Orient”.

– April, Master of Urban Planning Alumni

Plötzensee Lake, Berlin New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

The brown water, the muddy shores, the big trees with leafy branches leaning into the lake, the green and golden colours as the faint German sun slowly sets over the lake - it always feels so exotic and fairytale-like to me. There are 3,000 lakes in and around Berlin, with the closest within the city, walkable from a tram stop. There is space for everyone here. People come to relax - even the squatters, the punks, and those without a permanent address. On a warm day, there are people lying in the grass wherever you look - reading books, smooching, listening to techno, and sitting on benches drinking beer, breakdancing, or running around in nappies for the first time in their little life, learning to walk.

New Orleans will always hold a special place in my heart. The city is so full of life and soul and chaos, but despite this chaos, or maybe because of it, living there felt like harmony.

– Sam, Master of Urban Planning Student

– Jana, Master of Urban Design Alumni

Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong Getting an ice cream cone from 'mobile softee', hopping on to a ferry, and enjoying the sea breeze and night view of Victoria Harbour is a mini escape to unwind myself.

– Charlotte, Master of Urban Planning Student

Taipei, Taiwan

Launceston, Tasmania It took me a really long time to appreciate the beauty of Launceston. Yet its old aesthetics and ample greenery has really grown on me.

Now, it brings me a lot of peace whenever I wander through the city.

– Sarah, Master of Urban Planning Student

The back alleys of Taipei are usually teeming with life. School kids queuing at the breakfast shop, aunties pedaling home from the shops, or the garbage truck drawing people out from their homes in the evening with the sounds of Beethoven.

– Jonathon, Bachelor of Environments Alumni

Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

St. Andrews, Scotland

Based on its tennis courts, I do believe that Melbourne is a great World City.

I know that my working day is over as I watch the sun set over my office, whilst standing on the show courts next to Rod Laver Arena.

Tripping on the bedewed cobbled streets, the Northern winds creating all forms of distorted faces.

From the reverberating sounds of a Ceilidh, to the intoxicated evening singing of “You’re The One That I Want” echoing through the narrow wynds and closes. This is my small hometown and place of happiness.

– Jacob, Master of Urban Planning Student

– Nicholas, Master of Urban Planning Alumni

Footscray, Melbourne The climbing wall transformed a previously unused area under the bridge into an excellent community space. It's great to see how the wall draws in passers by and encourages them to have a go, or just to have a seat and enjoy the area.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

There is a particular child-like excitement of being in an abandoned building. Just add art. Magic!

Phnom Penh has always been this chaotically beautiful home in my heart, where many fond memories of my life were made. History and modernity weave themselves along the streets.

Even when you're stuck in its congestion, you can still see wonders if you just look! My parents took their wedding photos in front of the Naga Fountain (photo on the left).

– Mary, Graduate Diploma of Planning and Design Alumni

– Arun, Master of Urban Planning Student

Taichung, Taiwan

– Jack, Master of Urban Planning Student