Introduction

With urban politics come urban interests and agendas – even at night-time. To acknowledge this even more explicitly than in Chapters 4 and 5, this chapter discusses common themes and strategies described throughout the various cases in the book, with an emphasis on what commonplace issues have driven NTE action. It journeys across NTE strategies, sound and crowd-management methods, safety and crime schemes, and transport and logistics solutions to depict what key themes emerge in the night-time governance of cities, as well as what is left out. Importantly, it also offers a specific view on the issue of urban equality at night-time, and the emerging vulnerabilities that scholarship, and some practice, have been highlighting – from homelessness to night-shift workers, marginalized neighbourhoods and segmented mobility. Moving along with the narrative of Chapters 2 to 5, the key concern of this chapter is to broaden the reader's imagination of what the NTE is. Here, we focus on what is being governed in cities after hours, from a relatively restrictive view of the NTE as a fulcrum for entertainment and hospitality, to including the likes of transport, logistics and healthcare, and going further to recognizing those voices and activities that are often silenced by night-time discussions. Critically, we underscore here the importance of strategic visions and strategic plans in consolidating what night-time agendas are at play in cities.

What kind of ‘night’ is it?

The night-time has become an increasingly popular realm of policy and action in many cities around the planet. Yet, what is there to be managed at night in cities? In previous chapters, we investigated the ways in which cities around the world have been testing and building night-time governance institutions. What agendas underpin these approaches? In this chapter, we aim to discuss the common themes and strategic orientations that local governments have been taking when it comes to managing their urban life ‘after dark’. Night-time planners and managers have cast a relatively broad eye at what is to be at the heart of night-time agendas. Several cities have continued a well-established tradition of NTE thinking that, as we discussed in Chapter 1, has provided much of the thrust beyond the popularity of night-time governance.