Stella Hudson posed an intriguing question in The Bahai Chairs’ recent Book Discussion: Infrastructure, Well-being, and the Measurement of Happiness. She inquired what the true meaning of happiness is and asked what it meant in the context of the edited volume.

It was such an exciting opportunity to speak with the editors of the recently published volume “Infrastructure, Well-being, and the Measurement of Happiness.” I sat down on Zoom with contributors Hoda Mahmuodi, Jenny Roe, and Kate Seaman. They shared their insight into the origins of the volume and how it came together, as well as delving into the contents, highlighting why happiness is an emerging measure for well-being, climate change, systemic injustice, and the communities around us.

The next chapter of the new edited volume is titled “The Geography of Desperation in America: Labor Force Participation, Mobility, Place, and Well-Being” Contributors Carol Graham and Sérgio Pinto describe the rise of desperation and associate premature deaths and link it to lower geographical mobility, especially for less than college-educated whites. Despite worse objective conditions, Black and Hispanic respondents reported more hope for the future.

The introductory chapter for this volume is titled “Building Happier Cities” by Dr. Aubrilyn Reeder. She describes how people have been moving into cities in unprecedented numbers. This has also led private investors and development banks to be more interested in long-term infrastructure and real estate investments. This has presented an opportunity to build cities that enable social, environmental, and economic well-being for residents, workers, and visitors.