The Innovative Management of Smart Spaces and Cities and the Pursuit of Happiness after the Pandemic

Dear Readers,

Several legal tools can contribute to adequate governance for the ethical management of information, natural, financial, human and technological resources, which are indispensable for adequate urban planning, the elaboration of public policies and business models capable of promoting sustainable development and, after the pandemic, face its effects and impacts on society.

All of us, as citizens, consumers, entrepreneurs, managers or professionals, must be protagonists of responsible and solidary actions, as well as participate in the construction of creative solutions and adaptations that will be desired or required by the new reality imposed by the pandemic.

Therefore, your comments and suggestions are always welcome!

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The Innovative Management of Smart Spaces and Cities and the Pursuit of Happiness after the Pandemic

The creation of the International Day of Happiness was proposed to the United Nations by Bhutan, a country known for the creation of the “Gross Domestic Happiness” index of its citizens. The United Nations General Assembly established March 20th as the International Day of Happiness, serving as a stimulus to published policies related to wellbeing and happiness. Without imagining that it would sound like an omen, the then First UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said in March 2013:

“On this first International Day of Happiness, we will reinforce our commitment to inclusive and sustainable human development and to helping others. When we contribute to the common good, we enrich ourselves. Compassion promotes happiness and will help to build the future we want. ”

The World Happiness Report, the World Happiness Report published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, considers some variables related to the wellbeing of respondents, such as income (GDP per capita), healthy life expectancy, social support , freedom of choice, generosity and perception of corruption.

It is interesting to note that the largest economies do not occupy the best positions in the ranking, which makes it possible to infer that wellbeing and happiness do not depend only on financial or technological resources, but on their proper management and the positive effects on people’s lives, whose legitimate expectations must be considered in planning.

In other words, when thinking about managing smart cities, thus understanding those capable of promoting the happiness of its inhabitants, it is equivalent to say that investments in resources and technologies must consider the expectations of citizens (taxpayers), starting from the problem to solutions (and not the other way around), which must be sustainable.

In 2020, for the first time, the World Happiness Report classified cities around the world according to their subjective wellbeing and investigates how social, urban and natural environments combine and affect happiness. Interdisciplinary studies carried out according to the dimensions of the Abayomi Methodology also correlate the effects of the environment on the promotion of wellbeing and happiness.

The recently released 2021 Report brought new elements to this “equation”, which will also influence future studies on happiness, in view of the specific impacts of the pandemic on social wellbeing. It was exactly the management capacity of the best positioned countries that directly interfered in their citizens’ happiness “indices”.

Just over a year ago, humanity began to tread a very unexpected chapter in its history, the duration of which is still quite unpredictable. In an almost invisible way, one of the most elementary types of life (not even considered to be alive by some) entered our history and assumed a leading role that affected citizens of all ages, all classes and all countries.

The immediate impacts of this unprecedented global health and economic crisis are extremely relevant, requiring the rapid creation of solutions and adaptations of routines in public and private spaces, physical and digital, as well as the redefinition of several priorities, investments, models of business and concepts.

If studies related to smart cities already demanded new forms of management and policies to adapt cities and public and private spaces, the pandemic brought the importance of this remodeling in the list of the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 3030 and the concepts of Circular Economy.

Access to tools and technologies has become essential for remote work, new consumption habits, distance education and even for online consultations and health care.

The new reality also started to demand from managers and legal operators the re-reading of the existing legal frameworks and the construction of solutions coherent with the new demands or conflicts, for example, of competences for certain actions, individual and collective interests, demanding temporary “relativization” of some rights and guarantees, as well as the creation of new contractual, labor, sanitary, security, transportation, leisure rules, etc.

On the other hand, taking into account the impacts of the pandemic on public health and education policies, the economy, the public budget and urban planning, the actions expected from the Government can be supported or complemented by individual and collective actions, which also demand innovative management to foster solidarity, social support, empathy and community vitality.

To exemplify the relevance of this, it is worth mentioning that Finland, the country best positioned in the world ranking of Happiness a few years ago, obtained a very high ranking in the 2021 World Happiness Report regarding the mutual trust between its citizens regarding the protection of life during the pandemic and the management of the resources needed to protect health and life.

Adequate allocation of natural, financial, human and technological resources, in addition to the management of information and also time itself, are essential for the preservation of life, health and wellbeing.

The Abayomi Methodology, in its five dimensions – 1) Physical and Digital Space, 2) Innovative Management, 3) Health and Wellbeing, 4) Communication and 5) Human Relations – includes tools that find support in the legal system, in the form of guidelines that should promote individual and collective wellbeing.

In other words, alongside the other dimensions of the Abayomi Methodology, Innovative Management is vital for the reconfiguration and adaptation of public policies, human relations and public and private spaces, necessary measures to ensure or rescue well-being and happiness.

In addition to investigating the results of the 2020 World Global Report, future publications will bring the legal concepts and tools that can support and foster innovative management of smart spaces and cities and promote sustainable development and happiness.