Abstract

The Sustainable Neighborhoods for Happiness Index (SNHI) was developed to assess and compare cities on their levels of sustainability and happiness. While the SNHI has proven useful at the city level, applying it to neighborhoods, streets, and communities requires consideration of former and integration of new indicators to properly reflect neighborhood-level measures and application. Our article describes the process and results of scaling down the indicators for each of the nine SNHI domains (e.g., food, water, transportation). To demonstrate the applicability at neighborhood/community scale, we also present a pilot project where the refined SNHI was applied to a southwestern United States neighborhood. Finally, we discuss the intended broader impacts of the index along with the personal motivation of the research team in pursuing this study. Ultimately, we are striving for reconnection with a deeper sense of happiness and a desire to go beyond measures of economic success.