Bologna Night Plan

Good Practice

Efficiency, Equality, Sustainability

Innovative policy to manage the city’s nightlife while taking account of cultural, social and economic aspects, as well as liveability and safety, to strike a fair balance between the interests and rights of all.

Bologna City Council

Italy

Local policy

POLICY OBJECTIVE

Improve the nighttime liveability of Bologna, which, like all its medium-sized European counterparts, is increasingly a 24-hour city.

CONTEXT

Bologna is characterized by a uniquely dense fabric of commercial, cultural, and social organizations which sets it apart from other cities of similar size. This density represents both a resource and a fundamental challenge for defining the city’s identity. Bologna is made more attractive by a growing younger population who reside in or pass through the city thanks to high-quality educational and research institutions, culture, social environment, and employment opportunities throughout the metropolitan area.

Over time, the pace of life in the city has undergone significant changes affecting the habits of citizens and the operating hours of productive activities. More and more, the evening hours until midnight and the nighttime hours from midnight to 6.00am are for cultural and recreational activities as well as, for broader segments of the population, work.

POLICY DESCRIPTION

To address the challenges of an increasingly 24-hour city, the strategy involves roll-out of a plan for research and, in parallel, another for concrete actions: in January 2023, as research began, 7 new night bus lines did too.

The research involved conducting focus groups and distributing a questionnaire to study the needs, priorities, and expectations of people who experience, work in, and traverse the city at night, as well as those who generally inhabit it.

Mobility; sharing public spaces; the impact of noise; cultural offer and productive activities; quality, decent work, and health are just some of the topics investigated to better understand the city’s nighttime identity and improve Bologna’s services, cultural offerings, and liveability.

From March to June 2023, the “Stati generali della notte” series included gatherings to exchange international experiences, including those of London and Amsterdam, and present the findings of the questionnaire, which reached over 5,000 people.

These data made it possible to develop the initial action points of the Night Plan.

KEY ASPECTS

To improve the liveability of highly frequented areas where coexistence between visitors and resident citizens is challenging, we are testing an action involving street hosts. These new figures are trained with skills in cultural mediation, combating discrimination, and raising awareness around waste disposal.

RESULTS

Three instruments gave form to the survey underlying the Night Plan: a 892-person demoscopic survey of Bologna’s population; a self-administered questionnaire completed comprehensively by 3,982 individuals, and focus groups with various stakeholders, including venue managers, theatres, nightclubs, resident committees, students and law enforcement.

The results can be found here: https://www.comune.bologna.it/notizie/bologna-notte-dati-emersi-ricerche