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Are sustainable cities “happy” cities? Associations between sustainable development and human well-being in urban areas of the United States

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  • Scott Cloutier
  • Lincoln Larson
  • Jenna Jambeck

Abstract

In this paper, we assess the associations between self-reported happiness, measured using the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index ( 2012 ), and four US city sustainability indices: the Green City Index ( 2011 ), Our Green Cities ( 2012 ), Popular Science US City Rankings ( 2008 ) and the SustainLane US Green City Rankings ( 2007 ). Based on the examination of nonparametric, rank-based correlations, we found positive associations between sustainable development and happiness on all scales and statistically significant correlations for two of the four SD indices. Results support previous research, emphasize the value of explicit consideration of happiness when measuring urban sustainability and highlight the need for future research that assesses the influence of specific subsystems of urban development on self-reported happiness. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Scott Cloutier & Lincoln Larson & Jenna Jambeck, 2014. "Are sustainable cities “happy” cities? Associations between sustainable development and human well-being in urban areas of the United States," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 633-647, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:16:y:2014:i:3:p:633-647
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-013-9499-0
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    Cited by:

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    3. Timothée Cuignet & Camille Perchoux & Geoffrey Caruso & Olivier Klein & Sylvain Klein & Basile Chaix & Yan Kestens & Philippe Gerber, 2020. "Mobility among older adults: Deconstructing the effects of motility and movement on wellbeing," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(2), pages 383-401, February.
    4. Erica Berejnoi & David Messer & Scott Cloutier, 2020. "Cultivating Spiritual Well-Being for Sustainability: A Pilot Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Pam Lee & William Cannon Hunter & Namho Chung, 2020. "Smart Tourism City: Developments and Transformations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, May.
    6. Raluca Ignat & Marius Constantin, 2020. "Multidimensional Facets of Entrepreneurial Resilience during the COVID-19 Crisis through the Lens of the Wealthiest Romanian Counties," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-29, December.
    7. Dagmara Stangierska & Iwona Kowalczuk & Ksenia Juszczak-Szelągowska & Katarzyna Widera & Weronika Ferenc, 2022. "Urban Environment, Green Urban Areas, and Life Quality of Citizens—The Case of Warsaw," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Eva María Sánchez-Teba & María Dolores Benítez-Márquez & Teresa Romero-Navas, 2019. "Residents’ Negative Perceptions towards Tourism, Loyalty and Happiness: The Case of Fuengirola, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-19, December.
    9. George P. Kraemer, 2022. "Cultural Sustainability of US Cities: The Scaling of Non-Profit Arts Footprint with Population," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, April.
    10. Guangdong Wu , & Kaifeng Duan & Jian Zuo & Xianbo Zhao & Daizhong Tang, 2017. "Integrated Sustainability Assessment of Public Rental Housing Community Based on a Hybrid Method of AHP-Entropy Weight and Cloud Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-25, April.
    11. Rilwan Sakariyahu & Olayinka Oyekola & Rasheed Adigun & Temitope Fagbemi & Oluwagbenga Seyingbo & Rodiat Lawal, 2023. "Heterogeneous and time varying nexus between climate change and quality of life in Africa," Discussion Papers 2308, University of Exeter, Department of Economics.
    12. Muhammad Adil Rauf & Olaf Weber, 2021. "Urban infrastructure finance and its relationship to land markets, land development, and sustainability: a case study of the city of Islamabad, Pakistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 5016-5034, April.
    13. Lincoln R Larson & Viniece Jennings & Scott A Cloutier, 2016. "Public Parks and Wellbeing in Urban Areas of the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, April.
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