Pathways to Happiness

for communities with low sense of safety and trust

Pathways to Happiness are ways to increase

sense of safety

& trust

Community scores are the third

lowest overall

100= happiest

Let’s look at one aspect of community:

sense of safety and trust

On average, people feel indifferently about a sense of safety and trust in strangers.

a score below 60 means we feel indifferently about our personal safely and sense of trust in strangers and others,

Courageous P

olicies

Each street a public space

Encourage local small businesses

Ordinances to allow sidewalk cafés, popup parks, food trucks…

Promote and encourage local artists

Easy permitting for street artists and musicians

Create meeting places, open streets to pedestrians, gardens and raingardens on existing streets

Retrofit and design streets to create public spaces

Encourage frequent fairs, farmers and craft markets and block parties

Farmers markets, fairs and block parties

Resources for transforming streets to public spaces

http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/Rezoning/MobileFoodVendors/MobileFoodUnitOrdinances.pdf

Example food truck ordinances

http://www.pps.org/reference/ten-strategies-for-transforming-cities-through-placemaking-public-spaces/

Pointers and guide for creating public spaces

http://www.generalcode.com/codification/sample-legislation/sidewalk-cafes

Example sidewalk café ordinances

http://www.chlpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/12.18.13-Full-Food-Truck-Legal-Toolkit.pdf

More resources for transforming streets to public spaces

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/Farmers_Markets_3-09_Public_Health_Law_Policy_303375_7.pdf

Laws and resources for farmer’s markets

http://www.sfbetterstreets.org/find-project-types/activating-street-space/block-parties-and-street-fairs/

Street fairs and block parties

https://www.aclu-de.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/WilmingtonBuskingOrdinance.pdf

Example permit for busking (musical street performer)

http://www.buskersadvocates.org/saaregulations.html

http://www.seattle.gov/police/nightout/

Sousveillance laws

City government encouragement of citizen recording

pass laws protecting citizen rights to record

sousveillance is citizen recordings of interactions with civic servants

police

postal workers

and other government workers

maintenance

government portal to collect sousveillance data

government use of sousveillance data

Resources for sousveillance

http://quigley.mab.ms/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Keeping-a-Close-Watch-The-Rise-of-Self-Surveillance-KD-version.pdf

Article on pros and cons of sousveillance

http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles1(3)/sousveillance.pdf

Article on uses of sousveillance and police body cams

http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles1(3)/sousveillance.pdf

White paper about sousveillance

What’s it going to take?

Get to know your neighbor

& write, call or meet your local elected official

with frequency

make a resolution to talk to your neighbor

and your neighborhood’s elected official in city government

Use your city’s public spaces

incorporate some aspect of public space into your routine

By yourself, meet friends or go with family

Other policies in the Pathways to Happiness tool series

Campaign finance reformGuaranteed basic income

Media reformMassive public transportation

Local food relianceVillage living (cities and rural)

Multi-use zoningPublic spaces

Political festivalsParticipatory governance

Participatory budgetingAnti-corruption policies

Transparency in governmentCompassion training for policeCommunity-based monitoring

Sousveillance Vote holiday

Vacation lawsFamily leave laws

Sick leave lawsFlex time and job share laws

Telecommuting policiesBabies at work policiesIntergenerational care

Department of neighborhoodsVolunteer programs

Mindfulness practice in schoolsSocial justice awareness

raising Mental health –priority

counseling

We envision a world where all beings can thrive.

Can you envision it too?happycounts.org