Traditionally, cities have been planned and built around daytime activities and experiences, designed for different types of users and lifestyles, continuously changing through time. The night-time, however, have been consistently left out, usually, as a collateral result, often not even considered in the architectural design or spatial planning, leaving the window open for spontaneous interactions and actions to appear at night. These “blindness” (Van Liempt & Van Aalst, 2014) of the ‘night-time’ and consequently, the ‘night-space’, can be studied alongside with the evolution of electricity and its implementation (Arup, 2015). This evolution had a profound impact in the way cities function and people behave, opening the door for new possibilities of lifestyles, economic activities, spaces, and experiences through the different shades of the night. Many urban studies, urban practitioners and the technical experts, tended to overlook what happens at night, moreover, there is an unparalleled development between the literature on nightlife in relation to its implementation in the city. Questions like, who is occupying the night-space, what are they doing, or which are the characteristics that foster safety and comfort during darkness have been trying to be elucidated by some academics, revealing a complex dynamic of different aspects (Source). Whereas, policy makers, designers, and urbanist, nowadays, are responding to growth and diversity of the cities with more attention on people-centered design, where people, and their needs sit at the heart of design and policy decisions (Arup, 2015). W.H. Whyte in his study The Street life Project (1980), identified several key features that make or break public spaces. Together with Project for Public Spaces (PPS), with Fred Kent among others, have defined how these people-centered strategies can make a successful public space, posing ‘placemaking’ as the tactic and practice to encourage citizens to collectively reimagined and reinvent public spaces, paying particular attention to the social and physical context (PPS, 2007).

Williams (2008) in line with Lefebvre’s (1991), argued that night-time space can only be possible or only exists with human participation and their interaction among others as social relations. When social aspects are seen as the main aspect in the production of the space, it becomes obvious to consider strategies such as placemaking that are people-centered to build the public realm. Bearing in mind, that, the increasing densification in urban areas, which only intensify the need to consider the night-time in every aspect of planning, users, and their activities to achieve a harmonious growth. Reflecting on the perfect balance between active and passive actors, and spaces, at night-time is the key needed to produce a pulsating and pleasant city to live, thus, the different shades of the night need to be taken into account. The aim of this paper is to analyze people-centered perspective strategies, as placemaking concepts and aspects for successful public spaces, to the existing literature of nightlife and night-space, through clear examples of case studies. Furthermore, the goal is to contribute with a practical recommendation of the key aspects for the public realm, being sociability, security, safety, access, linkages, comfort and image, identified in the literature (PPS, 2007). So as to, three case studies will be presented as examples of public spaces at night, with one common aspect: people-centered strategies. Consequently, the questions driving this paper are: are people-centered strategies for public spaces only for the day? Or can they be for the night? The paper begins with an overview on the public spaces' production and design literature, with emphasis on the people-centered concepts and aspects, that have been identified in the literature, reflecting on ‘Placemaking’ as the main strategy for day and night. Followed by an analysis of case studies of public night-space under the scope of the aspects before mentioned. Finally, the conclusions will draw on the practical recommendations on public night-spaces and suggestion for further research.

…Communities and people’s attachment to place is the key for successful public places, and we can see that even though the users and activities are different from day to night, this could be used as an asset to foster the night spaces cities need.

Concepts & Aspects The cannons of how to design and create good or bad places in cities have been debate for a long time among urban practitioners, and the range of guidelines go from personal opinions to empirical data. Design, in the urban and public context, can be defined as the organization of a space (Rapoport, 1977). Architecture, art, and design tried to set the guidelines known as ex cathedra pronouncements, declaring what is beautiful and works, and what does not. Later, qualitative observational research developed by Jane Jacobs (1961), and William H. Whyte (1971), elucidated some guides from their respective studies in New York city. They observed that mixed land uses around parks seemed to function well, setting the first patterns that should be followed in urban design. Moreover, empirical studies in the environmental psychology literature, quantified preference about the characteristic that makes good places (Kaplan, R. & Kaplan S., 1998). Whereas, Norberg-Schulz (1984), believed that professionals like architect and planners, should embrace the dynamism of everyday life and should be the heart of urban spaces instead of seeing them as a preconceived design. Daily life, users, and time will always alter the design and implemented urban projects to try to appropriate of the space (Augoyard, 1941). Thus, in the act of transforming existing conditions of urban space, every individual is a decision maker, therefore a designer, producer, transformer and ultimately a place-maker (Simon, 1969; Cihange, 2018). For instance, the classic example of an empty public space, if some non-fixed chairs are set in place, users will randomly star moving them following what they consider appropriate or useful, even if it is just for 1cm., there is an urge that moves individuals to move the chairs. "Fixed individual seats deny choice. The designer is saying you sit here, and you sit there. This is arrogant of him. People are much better at this than designers" (Jacobs, 1961, p. 121). These interventions to the physical and social making of spaces by daily users can be seen as the actions that make the public space as a living entity and are the heart of social and spatial operations. The social production of urban space has been studied comprehensively by salient scholars of urban sociology (Castells, 1977; Soja, 1996; Shields, 1999); however, the real-life implication and integration into urbanism studies and spatial design still needs framing. As wells as Lefebvre (1991), in the triad of reproduction spaces declared the need of construction of spaces for, with and by the people as a basic requisite.

Considering that the dialogue between the social and physical urban space is in constant mutation and is adaptive to every induvial, they are a reflection of the daily rhythms of spaces that Jacobs (1961) referred to in her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, where she goes into great detail about the flow of places (neighborhood parks particularly), and how different users appropriate from the space at different time lapse. The Project for Public Spaces -PPS, in line with Jacobs and Whyte, suggested the importance of a place being inhabited by different users at different times as an important feature for the success of spaces. But so far, the-mentioned literature reflects mostly on daytime urban spaces, with some hints now and then of the night-time. However, a limited group of scholars have been developing the literature to compensate the gap for the night. By recognizing the human experience as a driver for design decisions and acknowledging nighttime, urban design has an opportunity for meaningful solutions, the stage is set to create more livable cities. Instead of seeing the lived spatial practices as “an accident of conceived space” (Augoyard, 1941), as something that will follow the professional design, there is a need for to reconsider the socio-spatial realities. Recently, tactical urbanism approaches like, Do It Yourself, begin to value self- interventions on already laid-out urban plans, in a way to exclude the planning processes or to be trapped in the aesthetics of design (Carmona, 2014, 5). Moreover, PPS states ‘placemaking’ as an approach where “the community is the expert," where the ‘designers’ promote creative patterns of use rather than just promoting better urban design (PPS, 2007). The PPS Placemaking strategies come from forty years of practice, where they developed a set of principles and guidelines to help communities to reimagine and reinvent their public space, considering their particularities and contexts. PPS defined that there are four key attributes to make great places, these attributes derived from their extensive observations and practices. They key attributes are: (1) public spaces are social environments, where people want to gather and visit; (2) they are comfortable and project a good image, hints safety is vital; (3) they attract people to participate in activities, thus uses and activities are important; and finally (4) they need to be accessible and well connected to other important places in the city (PPS, 2007). This study will use these key principles as guidelines to reflect on the opportunities for public spaces in the night-time.

Sociologist Lyn H. Lofland (1998) defines the public realm as that social entity within the physical settings of a city, made up of interactions between strangers, thus, a fruitful public realm enables human interaction to occur. Creating a favorite spot for people to meet friends and being able to feel comfortable to interact with a stranger is the most important, and most difficult quality to achieve. The night-time and night-space appear as the scenario for encounters ranging from violence and crime till love and work (William, 2008; Hubbard, 2005). Furthermore, as social transactions occurring at night seemed to be most relevant when we talk about the night-space, elucidating who is the main users and why do they appropriate of the space. The users automatically appear to be variating between young adolescents looking for fun and love, to adults working providing services for the night, excluding other users as infants and elderly in most cases. Figure 1 illustrates the ‘shades’ of nights by the users of the space, giving a clear view of the social transactions and users at night

Social research, urban design considerations and visual design together with the advances in digital technologies, new methodologies are needed to support varied and complex social relationships in our cities. This will allow the public spaces to truly be helpful to social interaction: places that encourage activity and wellbeing; which welcome people of different backgrounds; and that provide a feeling of security and confidence are the winners of the night space. Safer spaces should include protection from cars for pedestrians, enhanced ability to see physical impediments, and increased visual comfort for the elderly and vulnerable users. A space where people feel comfortable and looks inviting is more probable to be successful. Factors like cleanliness, availability to sit and specially safety are basic for the night. The first impression sets the scenario for people to feel welcome or not, at night light plays a role in all these factors. A public space with adequate illumination is essential, it doesn’t necessarily mean that places night to be as bright as the day, but the different shades of the light can play a major role according to the activities that want to be foster in the space. Figure 1- The eight shades of the night (E.g. urbanized area in the Western hemisphere). Arup, 2015 Safety and security becomes an issue during darkness, particularly when there are no “eyes upon the street” (Jacobs, 1961), this “eyes” that are the natural proprietors of the street, create a surveillance network around each block, enhanced by a considerable amount of stores and other public places sprinkled in the city. Strangers walking and meeting at night become assets for safety and security in the street and in the public space. What has been going on is that many families and people feel the necessity to build all sort of barriers to ensure self-protection, lifting a ‘wall’ that isolates spaces leaving them to the eyes of nobody.

“A great public space is easy to get to, easy to enter, and easy to navigate” (PPS, 2007). Access, and connections to the surroundings along with visual links are crucial to bring life to a public space. If the access is not clear, feeling insecurity increases, for example walking along cafes, restaurants or shops hints and gives the feeling of being observe by others and increases safety. Oppose to walk along a blank wall or empty lot, makes people to walk faster only to reach a place with some inhabit perception. Being able to see a space from distance and if its interior is visible from outside, is especially relevant at night adding to the safety perception. On the other hand, accessibility is crucial for night public spaces, either if it is in a walking distance range, or it can be reach by public transport or if it has enough parking space to ensure the success of it. A wide range of transport modes and the working hours of it, are a key factor for attracting visitors from other parts of the city. Once again, safety is a kin longitudinal element for a public space and transport at night.

Having something, and it could be anything, to do in a place gives a reason to people to come. Empty spaces where there is nothing to do, will remain empty, hinting that something is not working well in that public space. This fact is true either for day and night, if the activities and uses are well chosen, it will help to attract various people at different times of the day. Playgrounds and cafes with bakeries can draw young children and early bird workers and moms in the morning. Sports activities, such as skating, basketball courts can be appealing for kids after school and teenagers. Specifically, for the night, activities such as concerts, public cinemas and restaurants can attract everyone during evening. Considering heterogeneity not only in age range but especially cultural background, income, and uses (as activities) becomes most relevant. Back in 1961, Jane Jacobs noted that in the city of New York, some of the safest and dangerous sidewalks, at day or night, are those along which poor people or minority groups lived. The lack of good mixtures in its primary uses, particularly good mixing of night uses is extremely important to enhance the nightlife. The uses and activities during the night-time must be in relation to the context and to the community, there is not one recipe solution for all the spaces but every space and community can come up with the most suitable proposal for their public space according to what they want to foster, like peace and quiet or rush and vitality at night. In the following section the previous aspects for a successful public place will be analysis in three case studies of public night-spaces, two can be seen as constructed as a part of a placemaking strategy and the third one was developed from the ‘experts’ perspective, nonetheless, all are considered as people-centered initiatives.

Public night-spaces

(1) The Temple Street Night Market, in Honk Kong, China, opens in the early afternoon and gets hectic at dusk, where around 100 small stalls offer different goods for purchase, here, you can find from clothes to cheap jewelry and cellular phones. It became a regular market in the 1920s, but as the area developed and became more built up, the marketers were pushed away from the temple itself. The Temple Street Night Market have experienced many changes through the years, but when a plausible displacement came in the 1920, it was its social network who came as the shield who protect and prevent the displacement of the marketers that still sell their products until today. The marketers struggled but conquered back the space through a series of negotiations with the local stakeholders and the government. The market has access by many streets and is connected with key points of the city, first sign of a successful place according to the aspects mentioned before. The increasing amount of people, locals and visitors, who visit the market create a hustle but is because of this that the market to some extent is experienced as a safe place at night. With the variety of activities, which is reflected in the different shades of lights according to the stall, the Temple Street Night Market is a perfect example of public space, that contains all the factors for night-space under the placemaking lens.

(2) The Camden Night Gardens, located in Camden, New Jersey, USA. Creating this free nighttime festival called Camden Night Gardens has reanimated a neglected urban space while also celebrating local culture and talent. The festival takes place on the former location of Riverfront State Prison, demolished in 2010, and its neighboring area is one of the poorest and most dangerous in the United States. The idea always was that the community appropriates of the space to revitalize and profit from the void to foster their talents and strengthen their social relations. In the spring of 2014, the grand opening happened, and around 3,000, people joined to celebrate the talents and creativity of their neighborhood. The festival presented numerous events ranging from local artists, BMX performances, live music, food, large design installations and games, complying with the different activities and users’ aspects of placemaking. Since its inauguration, the Camden Night Gardens has hosted several editions, each with madly creative exhibits and events. Although the location is not ‘central’ for people coming from other parts of the city, public transport and parking space are ensure. The festival has become a tool for reclaiming and re-imagining the riverfront and some empty lots in the neighborhoods, where the community is their main asset. It has inserted a greater sense of ownership to the place and safety in the area and allowed people to experiment on the site, until longer-term plans are solidified. Nevertheless, this experience has solidified the social network of neighbors, adding to the image, comfort, and safety of the area.

(3) The following project began in the city of New York in 2009, and has replicated in many other cities in Europe, Australia and Colombia, this project comes from and ‘expert's perspective but has a people-centered strategy written all over it. The project is called NightSeeing, Navigate Your Luminous City program enabled participants to experience cities at night. This project clearly differentiates from the two above explained, due to its more top-down approach, nevertheless in the process of making it, it included all the different stakeholders, who tinted a particular desire to enjoy the streets at night— through food trucks, lingering, shopping, and an appreciation of colors and social bonds (Figure 2). The relevance of a site-specific lighting program to enhance legibility, safety and city enjoyment, was clarified during the process with the users of the city. Through the integration of stakeholders into the lighting plan, they proposed, creative solutions to respond to each and every context and users of the space. This program is a good example of how small lighting interventions can revitalize and change people’s perception of the public space, adding to perceptions of comfort and safety, using it to enhance different activities and uses.

The rapid growth and expansion of cities, the emergence of new technologies, and the increasing recognition for healthier, more sustainable and resilient urban environments creates a wide range of opportunities to rethink the design and function of cities especially at night. More local authorities will need to work with night-time designers and the communities to undertake research into the usage of space in their districts and neighborhoods throughout the different shades of night. Communities and people’s attachment to place is the key for successful public places, and we can see that even though the users and activities are different from day to night, this could be used as an asset to foster the night spaces cities need. The same aspects of placemaking from the day have proven to be applicable for the night, with some alterations and adaptations regarding lightening systems that can enhance perceptions of safety and clarity of access to the space. Further research can explore through an empirical study with night users’ possibilities of a night placemaking in their cities. By now, we know who they are and what they do, but fostering good public places at night requires the active participation and compromise of the community in its environments. It is a great opportunity for cities to take what now comes spontaneous and sporadically to develop new possibilities in the public realm at night.