International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development ISSN: 1946-3138 (Print) 1946-3146 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjue20 How can planning for sustainability improve Costa de Caparica's nightlife? Diana Neves Almeida & João Mota-Guedes Fumega To cite this article: Diana Neves Almeida & João Mota-Guedes Fumega (2012) How can planning for sustainability improve Costa de Caparica's nightlife?, International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 4:1, 111-123, DOI: 10.1080/19463138.2012.667411 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2012.667411 Published online: 28 Mar 2012. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 96 Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tjue20 International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development Vol. 4, No. 1, May 2012, 111–123 How can planning for sustainability improve Costa de Caparica’s nightlife? Diana Neves Almeida* and João Mota-Guedes Fumega Centre for Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, Ed.Fac.Letras, Alameda da Universidade, Lisbon 1600-214, Portugal (Received 19 April 2011; final version received 27 January 2012) In the twentieth century, several transformations occurred in the way society used and perceived urban lighting. This allowed the growth of leisure and other activities related to free time and culture into the night period. Night gained an increasing importance among urban policies and therefore required to be framed within these complex urban contexts as well as other planning processes. This article addresses the Polis Program and its contribution to the improvement of Costa de Caparica’s nightlife. It aims to analyse the urban renewal intervention of the Polis Program at Costa de Caparica in terms of night economy and sustainability concerns, in light of Egan’s sustainable communities’ components. The argument is that the planning of night can contribute to the construction of a sustainable community. The main conclusions focus on the importance that should have been given to governance, public participation and equity com- ponents of Egan’s wheel along the implementation of the programme, as well as in planning processes broadly, towards achieving a sustainable nightlife. Keywords: nightlife; sustainability; planning; Costa de Caparica; Polis Program; governance Introduction which has allowed the take up of economic, cultural Social and cultural changes of recent decades have or political activities into the night. Furthermore, increased the importance of night as a spatial and there is a growing democratization of leisure as time concept essential to urban areas. Among the a group of night experiences, contributing to the changing drivers, some transformations occurred development of new segments of economic activi- in modern societies: the liberalization of social ties that only exist in the night-time period (Alves practices; demographic changes; increase of sin- 2010). gle people without limitations of time; the coming In this context, planning the urban night has out of new highly standardized urban life patterns. countless advantages, not only in the program- This range of circumstances has attenuated the ming of activities and public space security issues day–night sequence, at the same time that different but also in what concerns sustainability of energy rhythms are gaining a new importance. In addition, consumption and equity in access (Hollands and leisure and cultural practices related to free time Chatterton 2003; Espinasse and Buhagiar 2004; have gained a new projection in the social sphere – Alves 2007). free time has emerged as an important period of This article addresses the Polis Program and self-evaluation. These transformations are related its contribution to the improvement of Costa de to technological innovations in urban lighting, Caparica’s nightlife. It aims to analyse the urban *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] ISSN 1946-3138 print/ISSN 1946-3146 online © 2012 Taylor & Francis http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2012.667411 http://www.tandfonline.com 112 D.N. Almeida and J.M.-G. Fumega renewal intervention of the Polis Program at developed countries started to experience artificial Costa de Caparica in terms of night economy lighting. and sustainability concerns, in light of Egan’s The spread of public illumination changed peo- sustainable communities’ components. The argu- ple’s habits forever. Economic activities have taken ment is that planning of night uses can contribute advantage of artificial light, seeking greater effi- to the construction of a sustainable community. ciency and increasing work productivity, by extend- In addition, Polis Program should have given a bet- ing the number of hours worked and dissolving ter contribution in this sense, regarding mainly the the natural seasonal variations of light. All types inclusion of governance and participation in the of professional activities could enter deeper in planning process. the night period. Not only economic activities The Polis Program results directly from a set have undergone significant processes of change of national assumptions of a general urban dis- but also social and cultural practices have been order (Baptista 2008), which then was applied to transported, transformed and created in the night different small- and medium-sized cities requir- period. Leisure is a fundamental element in night ing urban reorganization, environmental quality, planning. Incorporating urban lighting in plan- accessibilities improvement and also urban uses ning considerations establishes the guidelines for and design enhancement. Furthermore, the Polis design, orientation and efficiency of illumination Program reflects a series of national decisions projects. It generates urban life quality in terms based on a top-down planning model, neglecting of security, minimizing environmental risks and governance, equity and public participation com- constituting an opportunity to enjoy the night sky ponents. (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias 1992). Light Failures found in Costa de Caparica’s Polis can be an instrument of (1) transforming and con- Program analysis, concerning the irrelevance structing new landscapes, (2) upgrading spaces and assigned to night uses, are restricted to this par- creating more suitable environments, (3) illuminat- ticular case. However, the absence of community’s ing most remarkable built heritage, (4) highlighting consultation and participation in the planning pro- details and materials and (5) livening public spaces cess and the post-plan information campaigns by creating a functional day use and by promoting for key stakeholders are common to other Polis a night use of parks and gardens (Narboni 2003; Programs. Alves 2009). The most common approach in the research done on night planning is related to light and secu- Night planning towards more sustainable rity. However, there are a set of authors who analyse communities the night issue in a varied number of forms related Urban lighting had appeared by the year 1900, with with the time use perspective, cultural dimension the main function of beautifying and redecorating of night, leisure activities, night economy and monuments, places and spaces (Narboni 2003). others. In this context, it is important to distin- Still, night continued to represent a barrier towards guish some of the main authors’ perspectives on day, assumed as the stage of all human activi- night studies. French authors such as Cauquelin ties. This dichotomy separated day and night very (1977), Deleuil (1994), Ascher (1997), Paquot clearly, in which night was associated with the (2000), Gwiazdzinski (2003, 2005), Espinasse and unknown, provoking fears, mystery, curiosity and Buhagiar (2004) and Espinasse et al. (2005) tradi- contradiction (Gwiazdzinski 2005). All these uses tionally focus on the theme of night liveability and and perceptions were slowly changed due to the an experiences perspective. These authors tend to spreading of artificial lighting, first associated with highlight the urban landscapes and their transfor- cities and also in rural areas, but mainly after the mations, as well as the role of urban lighting design Second World War. Only decades later some less and planning as a way to differentiate and enhance International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development 113 public spaces. The other perspectives come mostly Finally, Roseland (2005) stresses the quality of from English authors, with an approach to the night life as the central goal of sustainable communi- more related with the policies that regulate public ties that “[...] seeks a better quality of life for space at night (Talbot 2007; Helms 2008; Pain and all its residents while maintaining nature’s abil- Smith 2008). These analyses focus essentially on ity to function over time by minimizing waste, the night economy as a starting point for solving preventing pollution, promoting efficiency and problems such as alcoholism and crime, which tend developing local resources to revitalize the local to have a special incidence in the United Kingdom. economy”. Allied to the issue of urban night planning, there It is crucial to understand the concept of are also police regulation and security issues that sustainable community and to define community reflect spatially segregated night uses. as it is perceived in this concept. Community, in Regarding the article’s objective, planning