By: Holden Matthews

Fort Collins, Colo. – Fort Collins has a bustling downtown, great outdoor recreational activities, and is home to Colorado State University. It was ranked the fourth-most populated city in Colorado by the U.S. Census Bureau.

However, some may wonder: What is so great about Fort Collins, and how is it continuing to improve its citizens’ well-being?

Charles Montgomery, in the article “A Recipe for Urban Happiness,” outlines nine key principles for urban well-being: core needs, social relationships, health, ease, joy, meaning, belonging, and resilience.

Core needs are at the center of the principles of urban well-being. It consists of food, water, shelter, sanitation and safety.

Fort Collins satisfies the core needs of most of its residents with safe bike lanes and a clean water supply contributing to an overall sense of security. However, there is an ongoing struggle to combat homelessness in the city.

“We are never going to ‘end’ homelessness. However, the goal is to put systems in place so that when a person does experience homelessness, it is rare, brief and non-recurring.”

A quote from the City of Fort Collins

The City of Fort Collins’ proposed solutions to combat homelessness include rapid housing, homeless sheltering, and mental and behavioral health services.

Fort Collins, as of 2022, has also leveraged around $2.28 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to combat homelessness in the city. Moreover, social relationships are another very important principle of urban well-being that can deeply affect a person’s mood and health.

Montgomery describes that even superficial interactions, such as passing someone on the street, can have an impact on someone’s mood, creativity and productivity.

“Unfortunately, loneliness and social disconnection [are] reaching epidemic levels in many countries,” Montgomery stated. “It’s not obvious to many that the solution to isolation is in the physical design of our communities.”

Fort Collins, as a college town, is a walkable and bikeable location. It has a bustling downtown with several places to spend time.

As a result of the walkable city environment, Fort Collins is a healthy city, ranking among the nation’s least obese cities in 2014.

Jonathan Paul, a student at Colorado State University, weighed in on his health in Fort Collins.

“I feel pretty healthy in Fort Collins. There are plenty of options for food and exercise for physical health, in the mountains in particular,” Paul said. “I think the city is small enough to not feel oppressive, and the weather is often clear, which helps my mood.”

The fourth principle of urban well-being is equity. A city with a higher level of inequity resulted in unhappiness, leading to an overall worse economy, Montgomery stated.

To measure equity, Fort Collins uses equity indicator reports. These reports detail the level of inequity people experience based on race.

The most recent report, released in 2021, found that, in 54% of the categories measured, racial and ethnic disparities were found.

“[The Institute for State and Local Governance] also found differences by income, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, educational attainment, household composition, and neighborhood.”

From Fort Collins’s Equity Indicator Reports

The city of Fort Collins will use the information provided by the report to influence policy changes and decisions regarding equity, the report stated.

The fifth principle of urban well-being, ease, is an important part of urban design.

“Well-designed places offer people a sense of ease and freedom,” Montgomery stated. “Rather than making us feel stuck or frustrated, they empower us to move as we please.”

This principle relates closely to the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth principles: joy, meaning, belonging and resilience, as they all relate to the concept of friendship and community.

Paul stated that, as a studen, he feels at ease most of the time but gets bogged down at times from stress.
“The groups I have fallen in with I felt I had to work to be a part of, such as extracurricular groups,” Paul stated. “That being said, I do feel like I have support structures should I need them.”

Paul described how, despite not feeling part of a larger Fort Collins community, he feels supported by smaller support groups within the Fort Collins community.

“I have never felt unwelcome in Fort Collins–The groups I have joined have made me feel included and appreciated.”

Jonathan Paul, a Student at Colorado State University

Fort Collins is a city with a deep community that cares about one another despite everyone’s differing circumstances.

Like many cities, Fort Collins is not perfect. What makes it great, however, is how it works to solve these issues and works to consistently makes its citizens happy.

For more information on the city of Fort Collins’ upcoming projects, visit www.fcgov.com