Services: Opportunities and Innovation in the Territory at the Night

Abstract

The continuous time of economy and networks provides conditions that allow society to develop more and more diverse ways of life, in terms of the use of time and space. Such transformations generate new opportunities for economic and social development, particularly due to the incorporation, in the scope of the production and consumption of a space-time - the night - which has until now been regarded as unproductive. Nevertheless, these changes supply a potential conflict as most urban spaces have almost always been conceived for a daily use. Planning must reflect upon the ways to innovate the urban and regional forms, so that territories can be lived, with quality and in a sustained way, 24 over 24 hours. Social and economic changes allow us to change the way we organize time, mainly through information and communication technology and lighting, as they let a growing number of people develop their economic activities, study, and entertain themselves at night. There are cities and regions whose economic dynamics depend on eminently nocturnal services activities. The fact that society has gradually been organizing itself according to standards of use of time and space, different from the past ones, has involved changes within social and cultural practices. This paper present some conclusions of investigation Project (Night: Opportunities and Innovation in the Territory) about the opportunities to the territories in Portugal with the development of eminently nocturnal services. With interviews and inquiries to the local and regional players, we try to understand the territorial organization at the night.