Happiest Cities Have the Most Cyclists

[Myrrh]

Is there anyone here who bikes to work or school? John Helliwell, an economist and happiness expert at the University of British Columbia, sees a link between the happiness of a city and its number of cyclists. According to him, the world's happiest cities have the most cyclists. He cited Copenhagen as an example, in which one in three people bike to work or school.

 

[MarBell]

I consider Copenhagen a cold city where it's hard to get outdoors. Obviously I am wrong. I've always wanted to visit it and see the Little Mermaid. I would be happy if I got to go. I'm not so sure I'd want to bike, though. Am I just lazy?

 

[ComingUpDaisy]

I love biking and I wish I could do it more. I could understand how it would make people happier to be active, I think it is something about endorphins or something.

 

[strawberry]

There would be more happier people if there were more bike lanes in more cities. You take your life in your hands where I live because of the lack of dedicated bike lanes. That leads to stress, not happiness, in my book.

 

[hunysukle]

Portland, Oregon has a lot of cyclist. People there tend to walk and cycle more than in other cities.

 

[classicnyer]

New York has been slacking in that department. Everybody takes public transportation here. I'd love to get myself a bike though.

 

[Somniate]

I know I would be pretty happy if I was able to bike to get to everywhere I needed to go. Where I live, everything is pretty far away from each other. The nearest store is a mile away, and drivers aren't very considerate...

 

[lettuce]

I don't think cycling itself is the cause for the happiness. I think there are many, many factors that go into this research, and having a population that makes fitness a priority is just one of them.

 

[Carolynn]

That is pretty neat! We are talking about getting bikes for the whole family, and one with a seat for our youngest. My daughter would love it if we could all go riding at least on the weekends.

 

[Nanatracyann]

I love to ride my Trek bike. Our village and our surrounding town's have now tore out all of the train tracks and made them into bike trails. It is a really nice time to spend with family and go for a nice nature bike ride. I think also if you exercise and get fresh air, you will be happier. Not to mention, gas prices are through the roof, so riding your bike just makes more sense.

 

[redearth]

My family moved to Denmark shortly after I was born and live there until I was 3. Danish was one of my first languages (I wish my family kept up with it). I remember my Mom telling me about how babies are left alone in their strollers outside of shops and cafes. It is a safer place and people are at one with their neighbors. Riding bikes and walking to get from place to place is the norm. Must be nice. I can see why people their might be among the happiest on earth.

 

[Victor Leigh]

Off-hand I can see a number of benefits in having lots of cyclists in a city. For one, more cyclists mean less cars. Less cars mean less pollution. Also less cars mean less road rage. I can't really imagine cyclists having road rage.

 

[difrancprod]

I absolutely prefer biking to work than driving. But it depends on the city you're living in because if it's too busy with load of buses and other transportation, then it's probably not a good idea. However, if your area has bike lanes then that's definitely perfect!

 

[btatro]

I have a recent-found love for cycling. I bike about 4 miles round trip to pick up my daughter from school (which she also loves). I take my kids for rides in the bike trailer almost every night and also give them some time to ride their own bikes. It is a very fun and healthy way to spend time together!

 

[shaunche]

How do you judge how happy a city is? It must be observational and not a thorough experiment. Exercise undoubtedly makes you happier, the most physically active cities will be the happiest.

 

[Penny Royal]

That probably explains a lot about Toronto. We have a newly-elected mayor who is trying to destroy all bike lanes and is anti-environmental in general. Toronto is not a happy city.

 

[SifuPhil]

I'm thinking of China and their huge bike population. I wouldn't necessarily say that they're happy ... not when it's so crowded that you're actually touching shoulders with fellow cyclists and you're constantly navigating between bikers, pedestrians and cars and trucks.

PS: the link didn't work for me.

 

[Isabellas2007]

I would think this would hold true. However, I think any cities with physical activity would hold true for the amount of happiness the city can have.

 

[Esperahol]

As has been said and will be said again: correlation is not causation. Bikes are probably not making these cities super happy, but they are a part of what makes them happy. The important question is - how big a part are they in making the cities happy?

 

[mudrock]

Maybe it is due to getting exercise in while doing it. People usually feel great in the long run of doing a daily exercise. You can't really compare a cities happiness to cyclists since there are can be millions of other type of people in a city.