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While smart cities have great potential to contribute to urban sustainability, related discussions and applications are often criticised as highly technocentric rather than people-centric. To ensure smart city policies align with the path of sustainability transitions, citizen well-being and social values should be carefully considered in urban planning. This viewpoint article argues that urban happiness associated with welfare, health, and quality of life is the gateway to transforming smart cities into sustainable living places. Firstly, happy cities share similar and vital characteristics with transitions, such as equity, justice, inclusion, and participation. Intelligent technologies would not benefit socio-technical systems without addressing these factors. Secondly, urban changes require years and decades to ferment. Planners and policymakers should concern about technologies’ long-term influence on well-being and urban liveability. Finally, technology innovation is a process of urban planning, not the destination. Thus, exploring whether cities’ “smart” input can effectively turn into consistent happiness is necessary. Given a lack of linkages between smart and happy cities in past studies, I propose conceptual metrics for evaluating happiness-driven and sustainability-led smart cities. My arguments also present several trains of thought to open more dialogues for researchers and urban planners.

From smart cities to a happy and sustainable society: urban happiness as a critical pathway toward sustainability transitions