Interview with Houssam Elokda: Urban planning and its relationship to wellbeing

Authors

  • Houssam Elokda The Happy City

Keywords:

wellbeing, urban planning, design, cities, happiness, urban health, research, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

In this volume of the Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, we explore the views, hopes, and current research agendas of those working to advance knowledge in the field of positive psychology within the MENA region, or with those who research and practise across various domains that are relevant to it, whether it is in education, culture, urban planning or policy design. We uncover their thoughts on the current status of knowledge as well as what opportunities and pitfalls exist. Here, we discuss with Egyptian Houssam Elokda, MidEast lead with the Happy City organization, which strives to inspire builders, urban planners, and community stakeholders to build and organize for greater wellbeing.

Author Biography

Houssam Elokda, The Happy City

Houssam Elokda, Egyptian, is the Middle East project lead for urban experiments, research and master planning. His collaborative urban experiments and urban systems innovation makes use of neuroscience to inform public space design, with this research helping clients use urban design more effectively to maximize urban health and happiness. Houssam also co-founded Transport for Cairo, which pioneered crowd-sourced tools to map the city’s huge transportation network. Houssam received his Master’s degree in City Planning and Regeneration from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where his work won recognition from the Royal Town Planning Institute and Scottish Head of Placemaking and Housing.

References

Montgomery, C. (2013). Happy city: Transforming our lives through urban design. UK: Penguin Books.

Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2017). World Happiness Report 2017. New York, NY (USA): Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Retrieved from http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/

Saphire-Bernstein, S., & Taylor, S. E. (2013). Close relationships and happiness. In I. Boniwell, S. A. David & A. C. Ayers (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Happiness (pp. 821-833). London, UK: Oxford University Press.

Stutzer, A., & Frey, B. S. (2004). Stress that doesn’t pay: The commuting paradox. The Institute for Empirical Research in Economics (University of Zurich), Working paper series no. 151. Retrieved from http://www.econ.uzh.ch/static/wp_iew/iewwp151.pdf

Vaillant, G. E. (2012). Triumphs of experience. The men of the Harvard Grant study. Belknap Press: World.

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Published

2017-12-15

How to Cite

Elokda, H. (2017). Interview with Houssam Elokda: Urban planning and its relationship to wellbeing. Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(1), 42–46. Retrieved from https://middleeastjournalofpositivepsychology.org/index.php/mejpp/article/view/49

Issue

Vol. 3 (2017): Interviews with Positive Psychology Experts

Section

English Article Manuscripts