Bristol’s wellbeing economics organisation Happy City has changed its name to the Centre for Thriving Places to reflect the fact that its innovative approach to helping transform society is now becoming increasingly mainstream.
Happy City was launched in Bristol 10 years ago with the pioneering aim of demonstrating that society can be stronger by putting wellbeing at the centre of economic policy making. 
Since then it has worked with local authorities, organisations and individuals to provide practical pathways to measure, understand and improve wellbeing.
It also produces two respected, evidence-based wellbeing measurement tools – the Thriving Places Index and the Happiness Pulse.
The index scores 373 local authority areas in England and Wales on their conditions for wellbeing, with the fourth annual data set will released next month.
Founder and CEO Liz Zeidler said: “Since we started as Happy City the organisation’s reach and scope have expanded in ways that mean we have outgrown our original name.
“Firstly, we no longer have an exclusively urban focus and increasingly work in all sorts of places – from towns, cities and regions to pioneering organisations and communities wanting to play their part in a wellbeing economy.
“Secondly, the world has woken up to the importance of wellbeing. What seemed like a radical idea 10 years ago is now increasingly making headlines and impacting government policy. ‘Wellbeing economics’ is now backed by a growing body of research and is being hailed as the future by prime ministers and radical thinkers alike.
“Centre for Thriving Places will build on Happy City’s global reputation for a place-based approach to putting wellbeing economics into practice.”
The results of the 2020 Thriving Places Index will be revealed at an event in London on March 18, which will also officially launch the new name.
The index consists of a broad set of indicators from datasets produced by established national data agencies such as the Office for National Statistics, Public Health England and the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
By looking at a much broader picture of what supports the wellbeing of communities, the index’s asset-based approach shows what is already going well and highlights that different areas experience different challenges.
The launch of the latest index data takes place at the Urban Innovation Centre in Farringdon, London. For more details visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thriving-places-index-2020-launch-event-registration-91598029171
