Literature and The Night–Time Geography of Cities

Abstract

It is the fate of most Western cities to experience a daily ’death’ after dark. People leave the central streets and retreat to the suburbs: a few theatres and cinemas may continue to function ’downtown’, but in many cases suburban television sets and other home-centred entertainments keep people out of the city and off the streets. What happens in the central areas is not, however, simple. A number of stages can be identified in the process of night-time decay. These stages are the core of the paper which follows. Their identification and discussion are preceeded by a statement of the problem of the city at night and an investigation into appropriate data sources and methodologies. The stages are then presented —after which attention is given to the broader social implications of the neglect which characterises the study of the city in its night–time forms.