happy cities

I am delighted to introduce the fifth annual publication of Avenues, the journal of the Urban Design Committee of the American Institute of Architects, Washington DC Chapter (AIA|DC).

Who We Are

Founded in 2017, the Urban Design Committee acts to improve the quality of cities and people’s lives. This mission is supported by our five key goals:

1. Create a Forum to engage other organizations in Urban Design.

2. Raise Public Awareness of the value of Urban Design.

3. Promote Visionary Thinking about the future of cities.

4. Advocate for Public Policy that promotes livability, spatial equity, and environmental stewardship.

5. Develop Allies among architects, planners, landscape architects, stakeholders, and policymakers.

Journal Overview

This journal is divided into three sections.

Section 1, “Provocations”, talks about what authenticity means in today’s context.

Section 2, “Happenings”, highlights the milestone events that were organized within the year to understand authenticity in the city better.

Section 3, “Ideas”, exhibits a collection of competition entries that animate the essence of authenticity.

Happy Cities

This year we focused on the overarching issue: what makes a city happy?

Each year we adopt an openended theme to frame our critical thinking on the challenges we face in urban design. The theme for 2021 was “Happy Cities”. Throughout the year, we looked at “what makes a city happy” through various lenses of urbanism like community engagement, community development, equity and equality, sustainability, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), etc.

Can design make the world a better place? It is often argued that a well-designed space can change lives, and this may be true. Nevertheless, any design is ultimately impacted by the context in which it is placed. Cities are designed spaces embedding past trials and errors, built on layers and layers of context. We, as urban designers, strive to insert ourselves into this amalgamation. Composed of architects, philosophers, investors, artists, sociologists, activists, and citizens, we engage with these contexts, and ultimately—whether we like it or not—we affect lives in our communities and our world.

Cities are magnets for those seeking better jobs and a wider range of opportunities. But increasing urbanization is causing cities to become sprawling spaces without a sense of community. The sustainable development of a city directly impacts human well-being. In terms of happiness, people across cultures, creeds, genders, and geographical regions can find a common ground. Happiness is not just an individual characteristic, but also a community characteristic strongly influenced by social connections, cohesion, and local amenities.

As urban designers, planners, and architects, we know there are techniques that can encourage people to think of their city not just as a place, but as a community shared by all. There is growing awareness that social bonds may be shaped by characteristics of the built and social environment. These social bonds, in turn, may help to overcome community threats that could diminish residents’ happiness and weaken their social cohesion.

What’s Next

If the utopian concept of a happy city has a weakness, it is that it is subjective to every individual’s experiences. As practitioners and passionate urbanists, we must strive to affect positive change in the very real challenges of our time. There has never been a greater need for urban design to be a critical multidisciplinary practice for our city, our nation, and our global community. We invite you to find new avenues for exploration in the text that follows and to join us as a member or collaborator in 2022.

Saakshi Terway, Associate AIA Chair, AIA|DC Urban Design Committee