Putting well-being at the heart of local policymaking, urban planning and resource allocation is key to helping communities thrive. But well-being is difficult to measure. And few efforts have measured well-being and integrated those results into policies and programs.
Well-being is more than just physical health. It covers all aspects of a person, including the skills and opportunities he or she needs to live a meaningful life. In urban areas, well-being is more than just the health of a community. It also includes residents’ satisfaction, connectedness and ability to reach full potential. (Other dimensions of well-being include community connections, characteristics of place, learning and economic opportunity.)
The city of Santa Monica, California, wanted to incorporate well-being into city planning, policies and programs. But first, it needed a way to measure community well-being.
Project description
One of five cities to win the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ inaugural Mayors Challenge, Santa Monica used its $1,000,000 award to develop and implement the first local Wellbeing Index. RAND researchers, as part of a team of experts that made up The Wellbeing Project, created the Wellbeing Index.
The Wellbeing Project had three phases:
The Wellbeing Index aimed to assess well-being in Santa Monica and create a framework for the city to discuss how government, community partners and residents could work together to help the community thrive.
Research questions
Key findings
Researchers identified several challenges facing Santa Monica.
Recommendations
Santa Monica can increase well-being for its residents in the following ways.
“These citywide findings help us tailor policies to those who really need help.” — Lisa Parson, Office of Civic Wellbeing, city of Santa Monica
Impact
The Wellbeing Project helped Santa Monica use growing partnerships between government and nongovernmental organizations. The city also used the index to build on established efforts that track progress in environmental health, open space and land use, economic development and housing, and human dignity.
Creating the Wellbeing Index also helped the city of Santa Monica:
Anita Chandra is vice president and director of RAND Social and Economic Well-Being, as well as a senior policy researcher for the RAND Corp., where this was first published.