You Happy? Santa Monica Gets $1 Million to Measure Happiness
Bloomberg Philanthropies, led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, offered the prize to cities to discover "innovative local solutions to national problems."
Providence, R.I., took the top spot, winning $5 million to launch its "Providence Talks" program, which is designed to improve the language skills of children born into low-income homes.
Santa Monica, along with Houston, Philadelphia and Chicago, were the runners-up. Each city received $1 million for their respective projects.
Santa Monica will develop their happiness index over the next two years.
The index will measure the level of connectedness that residents feel toward their communities.
City officials hope the information will give them insight into how quickly residents recover after a catastrophic event like an earthquake or a shooting.
Once officials pinpoint how residents are faring, they can direct money and resources where needs are greatest.
