Urban Happiness may not be just another utopia engendered by planners to lure citizens into the circuits of cities' real estate businesses. The Royal Institute of British Architects seem to look seriously at the topic, as suggested by the book edited by Jane Wernick on RIBA's behalf 'Building Happiness' (Black Dog Publishing, 2008). It brings the viewpoints of a varied number of authors about the pursuit of happiness as a meaningful political goal. On the other hand, recent developments in the theory of place, as I approach in my book called 'Rethinking the Meaning of Place' (Ashgate Publishing, 2010), seem to welcome the production of newly invented places (themed malls, revamped historic areas, etc) as important actors in the pursuit of happiness in today's cities. It is the intention of this paper to bring together the two lines of thought in order to achieve a better understanding of placemaking and placemarketing as techniques that promote the attractiveness of cities by producing new 'places of urbanity'.
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