To be published in 2024

The theme of happiness and well-being is framed within two significant changes, themselves affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic: the relationship between the individual’s quality of life and engagement within the community, and the role of new technologies in everyday life. The authors highlight the relational nature of happiness and the centrality of the home environment in its promotion.

The book covers a wide variety of topics on the design, introduction and use of digital technologies in the home, combining the technological dimension with the cognitive, emotional, cultural and symbolic dimensions of the objects that incorporate digital technologies and project them onto people’s lives. It offers a coherent approach, that of the home, which gives unity to the discussion.

Introducing novel theoretical, empirical and practical investigations with case studies from UK, Europe, South America and South East Asia, the book offers a novel global outlook on how contemporary homes are facing genuine challenges from operational, economic, spatial, social and wellbeing perspectives.

The multidisciplinary and integrative approach taken by this book avoids simplistic accounts of the home, studies the value of the home, the service it offers, and its contribution to the wellbeing and prosperity of communities. Reviewing its internal functions and external relationships, the authors connect the themes of family, housing, income and wealth, community, relationships, family policies, socioeconomic setting, culture and history from across the world.