Introduction. The Urban Night: a Space Time for Innovation and Sustainable Development

Abstract

The objective of this issue of Articulo – Journal of Urban Research - is to examine the urban night as an innovative space-time on different scales and in different geographic contexts. In this introduction, I remind the reader that the night has often been approached negatively. I discuss the process of colonization of the night and the pressures and strains experienced by the individuals, communities, organizations and neighborhoods of the “polychronic city”. In the second part, I focus on the innovations unfolding in cities at night in different fields: economic, social, environmental and cultural. In the last section, I look at the possible contributions of “night studies” to our urban nights, to urban planning and sustainable development.