Using data to measure and analyse the nighttime city

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The final chapter of the Global Nighttime Recovery Plan is live!

This chapter is about using data for decision making and political nighttime advocacy 

The seventh and final chapter of the Global Nighttime Recovery Plan is a go-to resource for anybody who wants to understand cities at night. It is a handbook of data methods and concepts for governments, communities, nightlife advocacy groups, and trade organisations – anybody looking to create safe, creative, and prosperous cities and scenes after dark. The chapter addresses evidence-based decision making in nighttime governance, and demonstrates how nighttime stakeholder organisations can utilise data for advocacy.


“Data are political”

Michael Fichman, Author of Chapter 7


This chapter is authored by GNRP editor Michael Fichman, who is an urban planning lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design and researcher at PennPraxis. Michael is also a nightlife community organiser and an industry veteran DJ, producer and event promoter based in Philadelphia.

The document features case studies and analytical methodologies such as Berlin Clubcommission’s, Clubkataster, BOP Consulting’s Nanjing Night Time Economy Index, VibeLab’s Creative Footprint Project and Voices of Creatives report, Sound Diplomacy’s Huntsville Music Audit and more. The document discusses the need for a “Nighttime Data Protection Standard” to protect individuals in nighttime spaces.  The chapter also references numerous case studies from the first six chapters of the GNRP.

The chapter features contributions and interviews from a global cast of advocates, practitioners, and scholars including Paul Owens (BOP Consulting), Shain Shapiro (Sound Diplomacy), Jia Yuan (CPCS, University of Pennsylvania), Thomas Scheele (VibeLab), Michael Schneurle (Open Mobility Foundation), Mark Adam Harold (Vilnius Night Alliance), Wambui Kinyua (Currents.fm), Leni Schwendinger (International Nighttime Design Initiative), Chingiz Batyrbekov (Kol Fest), Lutz Leichsenring (VibeLab, Berlin Clubcommission), and Alistair Turnham (MAKE Associates).

In the collaborative spirit of the GNRP, Chapter 7 is a truly open-source document – it comes with a GitHub repository of computer code to replicate some of the analyses referenced throughout the document. Sharing knowledge and skills is foundational to improving our nighttime world. 

  • Circulate the GNRP within your social network and send it to policymakers who can create change.
  • Read the chapter here