Prof. Dimitris Ballas

This seminar highlights the importance of geographical and socioeconomic contextual factors pertaining to well-being and happiness with a particular emphasis on the impact of social and spatial inequalities and social justice. It also makes a strong case for a spatial economics and economic geography perspective in the analysis of the spatial determinants of happiness, including new innovative ways of geovisualization as well as new possibilities for advanced spatial analysis. The presentation revisits the literature on the economics and spatial economics of happiness (including earlier work by the speaker on ‘what makes a happy city’ see Ballas, 2013 and the Economic Geography of Happiness – Ballas, 2023) with a particular focus on geographical and environmental features. The seminar will also confide the impact of the physical environment and natural disasters as well as the green transition on happiness and wellbeing.