According to The New York Timesâ 2011 article; âHow Happy Are You? A Census Want to Knowâ by John Tierney, Somerville, Mass. started to question, âHow happy do you feel right now?,â on their census. Citizens are given a scale of one to ten. Some people were actually happy at the moment. The purpose of asking this is to become the first city in the United States to track peopleâs happiness and to advertise policies and make changes in a city that was once in danger to gain happiness. Somerville wish to see the effects on installing bike paths and opening new parks to see if peopleâs feelings will change while mass transit is getting improved.
However I donât think happiness can be measured the way Somerville did because; the census didnât come in everyday. Therefore people feel different everyday or at a different time of day. For example when asked in âhow happy are you? A census wants to know, âhow satisfied are you with your life in general?â a guy gave himself a six only because he wants to be three inches taller and wants to speak Quechua fluently, which is accurate for him because thatâs something that he wants, but being three inches taller isnât going happen instinct itâs based on his genes. But speaking Quechua can happen if he takes the time to learn it.
Yes, I do think happiness can be promoted because it only takes one person or something that makes you happy, and it can be the little things that make you happy, just by someone saying Hi to you and it made you smile or brighten up your day. For example Somerville was known as âSlummerville, but sense its city is getting gentrified its making the cityâs reputation better and looking better as well. Vanessa Lagerman who have lived in Somerville for six years, is a resident who appreciates the cityâs effort of making changes to the city, such as adding bike lanes, but that may be happy for people who ride bikes, but not for people who drive cars because it may can cause a lot of traffic.
I think many things are important to our well-beings, according to Mr. Brennan the owner of P J Ryanâs, a pub In Teele square who also noticed the cityâs effort, but noticed that while the census was taking surveys itâs going to be high because of what they are doing now to the city, as he said it depends on the mood of the person at the moment, as I said before. If the city wants to something to happen and they see it happening, or there are changes being made. Then of course its satisfying their well beings. As for me I think transportation should lower its prices because itâs too much. Yes, its only $2:50, but that can be a meal for lunch. I donât think it should increase , and the government continues to increase transportation, but trains are still running slow, having delays, and arenât working proper, and machines take our money, and for you to get your money back ,you have to go through a whole process by filling out a form and mailing it, is ridiculous . But as for some New Yorkers like me we are spending $30 every week for a weekly metro, which I think is highly too much and $115 for a monthly is even worse. The government knows exactly what they are doing by taking our money. If transportation lower its prices I think less people will hop the trains and will it satisfy everyone well beings, it definitely will satisfy my well being.
Lastly I think their can be a conflict with individual and community well being because, one can say people who are on public assistance shouldnât have to pay taxes, the community might love that, but the people who arenât on public assistance will disagree because they will think it is unfair. However I donât think itâs a measure to peopleâs happiness itâs based on your mood, and how you are feeling at the moment because people feelings change every day.
