Geography of Happiness: A Spatial Analysis of Subjective Well-Being (Contributions to Regional Science)

This book offers readers a spatial understanding of happiness and subjective well-being. By integrating spatial and geostatistical methods, it sheds new light on the spatial and geographical aspects of subjective well-being. Geographical analysis allows us to measure spatial and regional discrepancies in subjective well-being and to identify heterogeneous profiles in terms of social, economic and environmental patterns. Consequently, the papers gathered here address various topics concerning the spatial aspects of subjective well-being, including social injustice, age, new urban spaces, and tourism. The book proposes a multidisciplinary approach and is intended for scholars and students in the fields of geography, economics and the spatial sciences. By examining several critical dimensions of happiness and subjective well-being, it enriches the complexity of regional decision-making on the path toward happier and more liveable societies. Contents 6 Happiness Geography: Defining the Field 8 1 Introduction 8 2 On Happiness as a Consequence of Sustainable Development 9 3 Spatial Information for Complex Decision-Making 10 4 Book Organization 11 References 14 Regional Challenges 16 A Spatial Analysis of the Instagram Hashtag #happy: An Assessment of Toronto 17 1 Introduction 17 1.1 Place-Based Happiness 17 1.2 The Role of Geospatial Technologies 18 1.3 Instagram Data 20 1.4 The Geography of Happiness 22 2 Study Area 22 3 Data 23 4 Methodology 24 4.1 The Chase for Global Spatial Dependence 26 4.2 The Chase for Local Spatial Dependence 27 4.3 Spatial Accounting of Land Use Within the Happiness Landscape 28 5 Results 30 5.1 The Golden Horseshoe’s #happy Spatially Explicit Landscape 30 5.2 Toronto’s #happy Land Use Distribution 31 6 Discussion 33 7 Conclusions 34 8 Competing Interests 35 References 35 The Subjective Well-Being in North Africa and the Impacts on Agriculture and Urban Land 39 1 Introduction 39 1.1 Geographical Determinants of Subjective Well-Being 40 1.2 Subjective Well-Being, Agriculture, and Happiness 41 2 Methodology 42 2.1 Study Sites 42 2.2 Characteristics of the Population and Economy of North African Countries 42 2.3 Data Collection 45 3 Results and Discussion 46 3.1 Subjective Well-Being and Its Relationship to Sustainable Rural Development: 46 3.2 Spatial Differences in Subjective Well-Being of North African Countries 48 3.3 Analytical Model and Variables 51 4 Conclusions 51 References 53 Territorial Challenges 55 Researching Quality of Life in Old Age: Some Conceptual and Methodological Principles 56 1 Introduction 56 2 What is QoL in Old Age? 58 2.1 Definitions of QoL in Old Age 58 2.2 Theories and Conceptual Models of QoL in Old Age 63 2.3 Lay Views on QoL in Old Age 66 2.4 Neglected Aspects in the Conceptualization of QoL in Old Age 68 2.5 Conceptual Principles for Studying QoL in Old Age 69 3 How to Measure/Assess QoL in Old Age 70 3.1 Methodological Principles for Studying QoL in Old Age 71 4 Concluding Remarks 74 References 74 Peripheral Retail Expansion: Social Implications and Spatial Inequalities the Case of the Île-de-France Region 78 1 Introduction 78 2 Literature Review: Retail Decentralization and Its Socio-economic Implications 80 2.1 Employment and the Survival of Small Retail Units in the USA 80 2.2 Socio-economic Implications of Retail Decentralization in the UK 85 2.3 Retail Expansion, Social Capital and Poverty 86 3 Retail Expansion, Controversies and Regulation in the Île-de-France Region 87 3.1 National Regulation: An Entry Barrier to Large Stores Since 1973 87 3.2 Environmental Concerns and Regional Plans in the 2000s 88 3.3 Local Attitudes Towards Retail Development 88 4 Retail Decentralization and Spatial Inequalities: Statistical Study 90 4.1 Data Description 90 4.2 Retail Expansion Between 1975 and 2014: Equally Distributed? 93 4.3 Retail Facilities in 2014 94 5 Retail Expansion and Socio-economic Characteristics of Municipalities 96 5.1 Retail Employment and the 2008 Crisis: Unequal Consequences Given the Location of Stores 96 5.2 Social Inequalities and Retail Development: The Clustering of Municipalities 98 6 Conclusions 100 References 102 Locational Challenges 105 Sustainable Cities, Quality of Life, and Mobility-Related Happiness 106 1 Welfare and Happiness: A Preface 106 2 Are Cities Sources of Happiness? 109 3 Fast and Slow Urban Motion Dilemmas 111 4 Mobility-Related Happiness 113 5 Sustainable Cities and Slow Motion: Findings 117 6 Retrospect and Prospect 118 References 119 Tourism, Climate Change and Well-Being: The Products’ Diversity as an Opportunity 124 1 Introduction 124 2 Regional Resilience: The Urgency 126 2.1 Resilience: Evolutionary Concept 126 2.2 Resilience, Adaptation, Transition and Transformation: The Relationship 128 2.3 Regional Resilience: An Evolutionary Perspective 136 2.4 Contributions to Regional Resilience: Determining Factors 138 3 Landscape Tourism: Diversity and Opportunity for Diversification 141 4 Impacts, Transition and Regional Resilience: The Algarve Region, Southern Portugal 145 5 Methodology 148 6 Delphi Survey: Expert Group A and Expert Group B 149 7 Delphi-Swot Survey: Expert Group B 150 8 Opinion-Based Interviews: Expert Group C 151 9 Conclusions 157 References 158 Tourism, Senses and Well-Being 164 1 Introduction 164 2 Literature Review 165 2.1 Well-Being in Tourism 165 2.2 The Hedonic Approach 166 2.3 The Eudaimonic Approach 168 2.4 The Complementary Nature of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Approaches 168 2.5 Well-Being and Positive Psychology 169 2.6 Senses and Well-Being in Tourism 171 3 Conclusion 174 References 175