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Happiness is Greater in More Scenic Locations
Chanuki Illushka Seresinhe1,2, Tobias Preis3,4,5, George MacKerron6
1Data Science Lab, Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK. C.Seresinhe@warwick.ac.uk.
Scientific Reports
|March 16, 2019
Summary
People report higher happiness levels when in more scenic environments. This finding holds true in both natural and urban settings, suggesting environmental aesthetics impact wellbeing.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Psychology
- Urban Planning
- Wellbeing Studies
Background:
- Understanding the link between environmental aesthetics and human happiness has been limited by data scarcity.
- Previous research lacked large-scale datasets correlating environmental beauty with individual emotional states.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between the scenicness of environments and individual happiness.
- To determine if environmental aesthetics influence wellbeing in both natural and urban settings.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two novel datasets: Mappiness (individual happiness) and Scenic-Or-Not (crowdsourced scenicness ratings).
- Analyzed data from photographs taken across England, controlling for activity, weather, and local income.
- Examined the correlation between scenic ratings and reported happiness levels.
Main Results:
- Individuals reported greater happiness in more scenic locations.
- This positive correlation persisted even after controlling for confounding factors like activity and socioeconomic status.
- The effect was observed in both natural landscapes and built-up urban areas, independent of green space presence.
Conclusions:
- Environmental aesthetics, or scenicness, is a significant factor in promoting individual happiness.
- Urban planning and development decisions that prioritize aesthetic environments may enhance public wellbeing.
- The findings underscore the importance of considering environmental beauty in policy-making for built and natural spaces.
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