The Stuff of Night Mayors: Governance and the Evening Night Time Economy

This proposed study sets out to explore the governance of
the urban night through the Night Mayor schemes of
Amsterdam and London. It will investigate these
previously unstudied modes of governance to interrogate
their effect on the everyday life of 'night people' and the
political economy in both locations. The project seeks to
incorporate both research surrounding the evening-night
time economy (ENTE) and its various modes of
governance as well as using this as a lens to analyse the
relationship between the ENTE and the alcohol industries
potential harm. By drawing on literature surrounding the
production of nightlife, its governance and the emotional
geographies bound up with drinking practices, this
research will collaborate with alcohol charity Balance
North East to develop a blueprint for best practice across
British Cities and their ENTE's. Situating itself within a
framework of political economy and its intersection with
everyday life, this project will use Hadfield's four modes of
nocturnal governance to frame the research: Law, Statute
and Urban Design; Police Governance; Private
Governance; and Affect and Informal Governance. This
project will adopt predominantly qualitative methods, to
produce subjective and rich data essential for elucidating
information tied up with lived experiences. Data will be
collected in three stages including focus groups, elite
interviews, volunteered geographic information and time
lapse photography taking place. With Night Mayor
schemes newly launched and spreading internationally,
this research is perfectly placed to provide real relevance
to policy on a local and national scale.