Chronocities for Sustainable Futures

Local and Regional Time Agenda

Like all diurnal mammals, humans have evolved within a specific biological framework that optimises life-supporting functions—performing better physically in the morning and requiring less demanding tasks in the evening hours. Although these patterns may vary depending on individual biological characteristics, as explored in this publication, it can be affirmed that the sun and natural light continue to govern our daily lives. Access to daylight, and the extent to which schedules align with it, significantly impact physical well-being.

If residents’ well-being is to be fully considered, cities and territories must rethink how they plan infrastructure, services, and their overall functioning to respect human circadian rhythms. This implies incorporating chronosensitive criteria into urban planning and design, recognising that different activities are better suited to specific times of day across various sectors of society. How can more equitable societies be created if existing schedules contribute to one of today’s major public health concerns—a chronic sleep deprivation epidemic?

Chronosensitive territories—and chronocities in particular—are key to identifying practical solutions to the misalignment between urban systems and urban rhythms. In this volume of the Local and Regional Time Agenda, the Secretariat is pleased to present innovative best practices for building a chronocity. The showcased policies are complemented by expert insights from Professor Diego Golombek, Dr. Camilla Kring, and Professor Joan Costa-i-Font. Together, they offer a comprehensive introduction to the varying dimensions from which a chronocity can be understood, and its positive effects on areas as diverse as public health, sleep, and productivity.

Preface to the Agenda

A Chronocity for sustainable futures. A Blueprint for Designing the Cities of Time

In the 21st century, urban planning has traditionally focused on space: the optimisation of square meters, green spaces, transit routes’ efficiency, and housing density. However, a critical dimension has been largely neglected: time. As we face the challenges of the 24/7 society, characterized by perpetual lighting and blurred boundaries between rest and labour, the concept of the Chronocity emerges as a necessary pillar for sustainable development. A Chronocity is an urban environment designed not just for the movement of people, but for the biological harmony of its inhabitants.

Diego A. Golombek

Professor at the Department of Life and Behavioral Sciences, Universidad de San Andrés, and Senior Advisor at National Research Council (CONICET), UNESCO Chair for the Interdisciplinary Study of Time

Chronoleadership. Designing Time Architecture for Chronocities

Chronoleadership is the practice of designing time architecture based on human biology. Chronoleadership shifts the focus from “how many hours people work” to “when people work best.” This shift is critical for cities aiming to become chronosensitive. Working hours, for example, shape traffic patterns, energy consumption, sleep quality, and family life. Standardised schedules concentrate activity into narrow time windows, creating congestion, stress, and inefficiency. By contrast, more differentiated and rhythm-sensitive time structures distribute activity more evenly across the day—reducing pressure on infrastructure and improving overall wellbeing.

Camilla Kring

PhD, Founder of Super Navigators & B-Society

Time and the City. When Rest is as Important as Race

Many current urban and institutional systems operate in ways that disrupt these rhythms, creating stress, sleep deprivation, and environmental harm. Regulations, urban planning, and legislative measures that create territories respectful of human and nature’s rhythms are therefore essential to improving wellbeing and sustainability. Policies that focus on human and natural rhythms represent a new model of health governance. This includes policies such as healthy street lighting, silent public services, traffic limits, circadian hospitals, adapted school timing, and protected night zones, all of which aim to create environments that support sleep, health, and ecological balance. A time-sensitive governance model does not simply reorganize schedules; it redesigns environments and institutions to align with human and natural rhythms. Urban planning and legislative measures play a key role in achieving this transformation, similarly to ending practices such as daylight savings time, which reduce individuals’ well-being and are estimated to give rise to large welfare consequences.

Joan Costa-i-Font

Professor of Health Economics at the London School of Economics