Nocturnal Paris by Restif de la Bretonne

The aim of this study is to investigate the nocturnal urban world that Restif de la Bretonne depicted in the second half of the 18th century when Paris became the centre of European cultural life. Louis Sebastian Mercier and Restif de la Bretonne are the two authors that more than any others dedicated their lives and their works to Paris and the costumes of its urban life, and their work is the basis of a literary journey that reaches us. Restif, in particular, can be considered, a sort of sociologist, who scientifically analyses the facts from the inside, becoming an active part of the story. With his novel Les Nuits de Paris ou le Spectateur Nocturne, published in several volumes between 1788 and 1794, Restif inspired several writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. By reading his extensive chronicle of Parisian nights we can not only taste the atmosphere of that vanished Paris, but we can also find a source of inspiration for our time, for our contemporary urban life.

What Urban Nightlife Feels Like

The chapter focuses on the various-level experience of space of urban nightlife applying the concept of atmospheres and uncovering the mutual dependence between atmosphere and place to examine the influence of technological progress drawing to the cases of two cities: Moscow and Copenhagen. It also aims to analyse the controversial issue of the collective perception of atmospheres within the urban culture of nightlife and explore the interaffective characteristics of different locations, mainly clubs, turning to musical nostalgia as an illustrating example.

The Development of Smart Public Spaces in the Greek Historic Centers

Historic centres constitute a substantial urban fabric which concentrate cultural elements that have been shaped through the centuries. The current chapter investigates the role of public spaces in Greek historical centres and the role of smart tools and applications in their integrated conservation. The paper examines three public spaces of Athens historic center and analyzes the threats and opportunities they face. Urban planning and design have an essential role in the historic centres' public spaces revival, and towards this direction, smart technologies can be decisive. The chapter evaluates parameters that shape historic public spaces as urban design, sustainable moblity, urban functions and participatory processes and it proposes the integration of ICT in these fields in order to make historic public spaces vibrant urban areas.

Nightlife in Smart Public Spaces

Every smart city has digital technology, but not every city has a digital technology called ‘smart'. This chapter focuses on the impact of digital technologies on nightlife in public spaces. The literature describes the third place as a dramatic zone of situations that articulate current events, referring to the urban nightlife atmosphere as a type of transformation of daily life. The conclusion reveals the importance of understanding cognitive and environmental adaptations to describe daily social life at night. The main finding is that smart city elements differ in terms of technological and digital components. The right description of smart cities and nightlife design will help to plan and develop public spaces in cities.

‘Urban-Gamification' as a Collaborative Placemaking Toolkit in Nighttime

Despite increasing interest in the 24-hour city, the effective human bonds with a place at this time have received little attention. Place experience is an amorphous and psychological theory with relevance to individual citizens interaction with their environment. During the nighttime, this interaction declines dramatically. As a solution, urban planners suggest collaborative placemaking and believe, since in collaborative process citizens directly participate in decisions, positive experiences toward the city increase amongst them. However, motivating citizens to participate in voluntary actions is not a straightforward task. To respond to this gap, this chapter first reviews the relevant literature to explore the role of collaborative placemaking in boosting place experience in the nighttime. Then, it introduces the state-of-art gamification as an approach/toolkit that can prepare a platform to motivate citizens to participate as volunteers in the collaborative process. In conclusion, the chapter defines a framework that urban games can use as a civic toolkit at nighttime.

Billboards, Smartness, and Nightlife Atmospheres in Old Cairo

This chapter explores the random configurations of lighting elements of billboards and outdoor screens in historical public spaces. This chapter built a theoretical base on a systematic review of research indexed in Web of Science (WOS) as hot topics and highly cited in the field published in the last five years. Reflecting on the case of Old Cairo, the argument distinguishes between the three concepts of smartness—smart city, smart community, and smart places—and identifies the differences between conventional places and smart technology. The change in urban nightlife atmospheres and the loss of belonging are the main findings of systematic research for how to reconstruct nightlife atmospheres to enhance belonging in public spaces in Cairo's old districts. A critique of the transformation of nightlife atmospheres in public spaces of historic significance is offered due to the random use of technological elements, whether implemented by local authorities or residents. Findings also have implications for urban planning and design guidelines.

Safety and Security in Nightlife Areas in the Netherlands

Nightlife areas aim to offer a hospitable environment for a public that is looking for entertainment but also produces nuisance. A recent paradigm shift focuses on changing public behavior rather than policing. This chapter describes two case studies from the Netherlands. The observations showed that at night the nightlife areas become an unofficial ‘festival zone' with large groups of tobacco smokers on the streets. Noise from these smokers (and friends) was identified as a major problem. Based on the lessons learned, a behavioral intervention approach is proposed that relies on multi-stakeholder participation and combines technology and choice architecture. The use of technology is relevant in several steps of the approach, and can be useful in facilitating behavior, reducing the impact of disruptive behavior, and monitoring the effectiveness of interventions. However, the Amsterdam case study also suggests that technology should rather be a small component of a broader positive behavioral and multi-stakeholder approach.

Nocturnal Urban Sociology and Light Sobriety

Associated with the definition of the lighting development coherence scheme of the metropolis of Nantes, France, this chapter contributes to identifying the stakes of better energy and light sobriety in the management of its public lighting park. The research focuses on how to raise awareness and involve the users of public spaces in the evaluation and production of nocturnal ambiances. It includes an experimentation of field survey dedicated to the evaluation and iteration of a method for the collection of sensitive indicators. Beyond its analytical part, this chapter proposes an unprecedented digital mapping tool to in real time collect physical and sensitive indicators. The research addresses the concept of expertise of use, complementary of political and technical ones that currently govern public lighting. The results confirmed that the pedagogy of light sobriety, regarding the challenge of energy and light sobriety originally pursued through an approach of awareness to street lighting for users, is ultimately determinant in the renewal of street lighting policies.

Forms of Night-Time Economy Governance

This chapter introduces a framework for understanding forms of night-time economy governance. First, the chapter identifies, defines, and classifies six ideal types of night-time economy governance modes drawing upon key literatures and real-world night-time economy governance practices. The six ideal types of night-time economy governance modes are: public-private partnership, night-time commission, night mayors, night city managers, night lobby groups, and night advocacy groups. Second, the chapter discusses the ideal type of night-time economy governance modes, and their potential role for night-time economy resilience and recovery during and post-COVID-19 crisis. Local governments, policy practitioners, night-time economy advocates have the opportunity to rethink night-time economy governance through entrepreneurialism, flexibility, adaptation, leadership, resource mobilization, coordination, and knowledge generation. Alternatively, we may assist to a weak night-time economy policy implementation and the decadence of forms of night-time economy governance. Recently, public discourse praises a night mayor or a night city manager with little knowledge around governance models.

Enhancing Social Engagement Through Nightscape in Qaitbay Promenade in Alexandria, Egypt

The design of nighttime environments is of a demanding importance to the social engagement and cultural vitality of any city as it strengthens the feeling of functionality, safety, and enjoyment at night. Currently, the topic of nightscape is commonly spread because it affects urban spaces in several ways. The literature indicates the crucial factor in allowing to carry out the daytime activities and partially eliminating the dangers of night darkness. On the local scale, the results strengthen a common observation that Qaitbay promenade in Alexandria, Egypt is not sensitive to nightscape and lacks social engagement. Notably, in the nightlife, urban promenades in cities utilize all human senses in different techniques incorporating vision with the spirit of social engagement of the surrounding. The chapter concludes a proposed framework for visual nightscape attributes and social engagement approaches to enhance the tourism experience in the area.