Why do we need a focus on Happy High Streets?

Our town centres and high streets have only two possible futures. The ones we inherit because local leaders refuse to act, resulting in continued economic degradation, or the ones we create by altering what we perceive to be the purpose of the nation's high streets.

Focusing on happiness and health can help us show that high streets are part of the solution to many of society's problems. In doing so, refresh and restructure them for a new generation.

If we're going to design them, shouldn't the end goal be to create happier, healthier environments? Why? Because concentrating efforts on creating a happy and healthy high street will inevitably increase footfall and economic well-being.

We believe that by employing a collaborative leadership style, altering our perception of high streets, focusing on people, civic pride, and taking a place-based approach, we can create a more vibrant environment.

What is a happy high street?

Our vision is for 'happy and healthy high streets' to be central to how we approach the challenge ahead of us. Being happy and healthy is good in itself but also it will lead to economic well-being. The Scandinavian countries have shown that high taxes and high levels of spending on creating quality of life have led to prosperity and happiness.

In a survey, we asked 220 people if they are 'happy' when they visit their local high street. Yes, according to 57% of those polled.

When asked if 'increasing happiness' should be used to evaluate a successful high street, 78 percent agreed.

We then asked them what makes them happy when they visit their high street and what they would include in a future high street if they were designing one. The findings are not surprising and can be used by all local leaders to evaluate their community.

• Making transportation accessible to all and reducing the use of cars / increasing walking and cycling = pedestrian-friendly

• Greenery including trees, flowers, green spaces and general planting

• Has a large number of social spaces (coffee shops, cafes, and pubs).

• A good balance and mix of independent businesses

• A cultural offering - including markets - that bring people together.

People-friendly high streets that aren't dominated by cars and have an interesting cultural offer with events, encourage people to stay, project a positive image, and foster a sense of community will be successful and increase dwelling time.

We have to cultivate our high streets to become happy places.

Creating a place with a focus on happiness and health will attract more visitors, who will become customers = happier business owners = growing businesses = employ local people.

The High Street Task Force identified major impediments to local high streets across the country, two of which are relevant to our work:

1. More than half of places (57%) lack a compelling and ambitious vision that will benefit local communities – it is a generic out-of-the-box vision rather than a place-specific vision.

2. There is a clear need for more place-based activation, as 61% of places fail to provide evidence of adequate events, markets, and activities that drive visits to their high street.

We can no longer simply accept the status quo; we must demand and deliver better results. We owe it to the small independent businesses that are taking a risk by launching, to the families facing a cost-of-living crisis, and to the many people who are isolated and want to connect with others. Focusing on happiness can help us demonstrate that high streets can help solve many of society's problems. We acknowledge that happiness, as a metric, can be subjective. What makes one person happy may not make another happy. But you can do it by using a place-based approach and scoring an area on happiness. Another issue that can be measured in various ways is health, such as air pollution, the number of takeaways, poverty, and obesity. By bringing them all together, we can demonstrate that high streets are more than just economic hubs; if we work together, we can solve many problems.

A stronger sense of shared identity, increased civic pride, and a sense that our high streets and built environment are more than just places to shop will be among the benefits of an innovative approach centred on happiness and health. We'd like to go to that high street. Our mission is to make it central to how we see our high streets.

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