Today we speak with Ana Maria Hernandez Gil, historian, gifted education advisor, trainer, and conflict mediator, who has dedicated her life to the study of humanism and the values that shape a person. Today we ask her about the kind of humanism that should be present in cities where people are happy. And she tells us more about the topic with…
1. If we want to build a city of happy people, what role does education and lifelong learning play in the lives of its inhabitants?
The capacity to be happy is developed by each person from within, and learning has the function of increasing that happiness, since the more you know each aspect of life and the more you delve into them, the greater your capacity to be happy and to discover each moment of life as an opportunity to achieve it.
This process lasts a lifetime, and learning must be continuous to keep the brain active and developing every day. The city you live in, the environment in which you move, has much to contribute to this. It can either enhance or limit learning.
A city can develop in spaces that generate beauty and opportunities, and also have public or common spaces to share, because the greatest happiness is that everything you learn you can give and make happy and help the people you live with, in the different stages of their lives.
2. How can an environment like Larimar City, connected with nature and well-being, foster a more open, curious, and creative mind?
Nature always brings peace, and understanding its cycles helps us understand ourselves, which is fundamental for discovering our own rhythms within it with an open mind. Curiosity is sparked by all the perspectives it offers, which we can then apply to our lives. Nature is immense because nothing repeats itself, and nothing is the same, just like each of us.
Enjoying the climate, the sun, the sea are riches that foster creativity, as it is an environment that promotes a vital, cheerful character, not at all hostile to human beings.
3. To what extent do knowledge and personal development influence the quality of life of a community?
Each person is a world unto themselves, and each relationship a universe. If these potentialities are combined with the goal of enhancing knowledge and becoming a better version of oneself each day, this naturally spreads to the community. Indeed, several minds working together are far more effective than one alone. We are all connected and dependent on one another, and with a shared objective, we can achieve much more. This has been amply demonstrated throughout history: we progress much further as a community.
4. If the mind is filled every day with what we see, read, and hear, how can the spaces and experiences of a city help to fill it with positive and enriching content?
By seeking genuine beauty in each of its manifestations, a city can greatly enrich the lives of its inhabitants. Everyone who lives in an environment is influenced by it.
When a city is orderly, clean, and aesthetically pleasing, all of that is transmitted to each of its inhabitants, both in the care of the city and in the care of themselves. And that's where a community of happy people is created.
5. What values should be cultivated in a city designed for the well-being of its people: curiosity, respect, perseverance, community…?
For me, the fundamental values would be goodness, truth, and beauty, which, adapted to a city, would mean that the space is truly welcoming to people, free of architectural barriers, easy to navigate, and with readily accessible services. It should create spaces for people of all ages—places for people to meet.
The truth of a city is that it is itself, welcoming people of great diversity, values, opinions and criteria with respect, and fostering culture with adequate spaces, health, education, security, sports, care for nature, commerce, leisure, religious practice and spirituality.
And beauty would lie in a balance between all the buildings, the distances, the parks, and the architectural designs of public services like hospitals and schools. Architectural design must serve humanity. It must create spaces where people feel comfortable and at peace. This is possible, and nature offers us great lessons; we can draw upon it to blend seamlessly with our natural surroundings.
6. Could a city also become a place where people not only live, but where they learn, evolve, and discover new capabilities within themselves?
Undoubtedly, the vocation of a city is precisely that: to create spaces where people can improve themselves every day and become the best version of themselves. Since the city is a way of life where a large number of people live in the same space, it can generate many more opportunities for development due to proximity and social interaction.
Thank you Ana for revealing to us more about how the environment shapes the person, how well-being is cultivated from the inside out, and from the awareness of urban planning in cities, in cities by and for happy people, which is the ultimate goal of Larimar City.
Macarena Perona
Communications Director
CLERHP