How Happy Are You? In a Boston Suburb, It's a Census Question.

SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- When they filled out the city's census forms this spring, the people of Somerville got a new question. On a scale of 1 to 10, they were asked, ''How happy do you feel right now?'' Officials here want this Boston suburb to become the first city in the United States to systematically track people's happiness. Like leaders in Britain, France and a few other places, they want to move beyond the traditional measures of success -- economic growth -- to promote policies that produce more than just material well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]