But the fantastic architecture is not the only interesting thing we will find in Aarhus, named by the Institute for Quality of Life as the happiest city in the world in 2023. Will we catch the hygge Danish strolling around enthusiastic Aarhus for a while? Let’s check it out.
Aarhus, the happiest sneeze
Don’t offer a handkerchief to the first Dane who tells you about his city: it’s the correct way to pronounce Aarhusthe second largest city in Denmark, just behind the capital, Copenhagen. And perhaps we should start with that factor to explain the supposed happiness of this city: its population (just over 1000 inhabitants). 300,000 inhabitants) and size.
Aarhus is the typical city that can be explored on foot and in which private vehicle traffic is not a major problem as is the case in other European capitals. In this way, the city has a good grade in mobilityone of the five main categories that the Happy City Hub group applied to compile its list.
To compare, we can go to number 192 on the list where we find Madrid. Aarhus scores 316 points in mobility, while Madrid gets 235. But, even so, it is not the subject in which the Danish city stands out the most: it is in the environment where it triumphs with a total of 366 points, only surpassed by Gothenburgthe fourth happiest city in the world according to this list.
You don’t have to go all the way to Aarhus to understand why this city is so successful in this respect: take a look at Google Maps and you’ll see that the grey of the buildings is not the dominant colour from the air, but the green of the parks and tree-lined streets.
This tribute to nature is certified in the sensational Moesgård Museum: a building that emerges from the ground and has a walkable grass roof. Henning Larsen Architects A/S and landscape architect Kristine Jensen were commissioned to design this building located in the south of the city.
Aarhus is also second on the list in the “citizens” which refers to inclusivity, among other aspects, while it has a good score in “governance” although behind other Nordic cities such as Aalborg, also in Denmark, or Alesund in Norway.
Special mention is the section “economy” in which the Danish city is among the first, but behind Zurich, Berlin or Bristol. Because it is evident that for a city to be happy it must have something in its portfolio, its citizens serene about their economic future… and without starting to tremble every time they look for a house to live.
According to data provided by IdealisticOf the nearly 3 million homes in Denmark, 50% of them are owned while 41% are rented, half of them being public housing. But cooperatives also have a great weight in the Danish housing stock, reaching 33% in the capital, the eighth happiest city in the world, according to Happy City Hub, ahead of its neighbor Aarhus in this section.
Thus, in Aarhus, in addition to an impressive collection of contemporary architecture, a high percentage of green areas, excellent mobility and a serene social climate, we have reasonable economic (and housing) conditions for the majority of its inhabitants. We assume that is The secret of happiness” if we talk about cities.
And the ‘happiness’ of Spanish cities?
As always, these kinds of lists always spark some controversy and a lot of doubts about how they were compiled. After all, certifying something as ambiguous and indefinable as happiness is just a media bait to analyze other, slightly more measurable aspects.
See at Berlin on the podium of the happiest cities in the world can surprise more than one, especially if you ask (some) Berliners. And Zurich The fact that Spain is the second happiest city in the world, especially thanks to its “economy”, deserves a slightly more incisive explanation than an index.
Be that as it may, today we have come to talk about happiness, so let’s not go into tantrum mode once again. According to the guys from Happy City Hub, to feel happy in Spain you have to go live there. Vigo either Bilbao which appear in position 58 and 59, respectively. The Galician city stands out in economy and citizens, while Bilbao triumphs in governance.
Beyond position 100 we find Valencia, which excels in governance and the environment thanks to its sensational collection of parks. It is already at 139 Barcelonain 165 SaragossaMadrid at 192, Malaga in 216 and The Gran Canarian palms in 242.
