The Surprising Reason Europeans Are so Much Happier Living in Cities than Americans
“Collision Spaces” make a town
You don’t need data to figure out Europeans are happier living in cities than Americans — and happier in general — you just need to visit a European city.
But why? Why are Europeans so much happier in their noisy, busy metropolises than Americans who apparently fricking hate them?
I want to know. So I bugged all my European friends to see what their opinions are on the subject and I did a little digging around.
There is one surprising reason that comes up again and again…
Enter stage left the “Collision Space”
My European friends always tell me they love living in cities because they are like “big small villages.” You are almost guaranteed to bump into people each time you walk down the street which makes you feel like you belong. That you have a community.
These mini-interactions often happen in what my city planning friend calls collision spaces (not an official term so they tell me, but I love it so I’m running with it).
A collision space does what it says on the tin — it’s a space where you can literally bump into people you know.
