The cities that never sleep

A city that is active 24 hours a day extends the hours of a city’s economy, generating more jobs, activities and social solidarity. But there are downsides as well.

In a 2011 study of the world’s 24-hour cities, Cairo was ranked the “most 24-hour” of all. Just behind Egypt’s capital came Montevideo, Beirut, six Spanish cities (Malaga, Zaragoza, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville) and Buenos Aires. London was ranked 17th, Paris 18th and New York 32nd.

Virtually
no cities are entirely 24-hours all year round, noted Marion Roberts, a professor
of urban design at London’s University of Westminster. Extending late-night
hours extends the hours of a city’s economy, Roberts said, but there are
downsides as well. “In the UK, Europe and Australia, a lot of their
‘24-hourness’ has been about extending entertainment – which has
[disadvantages] for city centre dwellers unless carefully managed,” explained
Roberts, who co-authored the 2009 book Planning the Night-time City. “However, it does generate more
jobs, activities and social solidarities.”

Common concerns about keeping a city up
all night relate to noise, traffic and alcohol consumption. In Washington DC,
where city officials are debating the advantages of extending late-night hours,
some politicians and residents oppose the idea as they think it will also lead
to an increase in crime.

And the concerns are not misguided. For
example, a 2010
World Health Organization study stated that New York is the world’s loudest
city, followed by Tokyo, Nagasaki and Buenos Aires. In addition, the Institute
of Alcohol Studies found that
the late-night economic activity of 24-hour cities is largely
tied to alcohol consumption, a conclusion Roberts arrived at in her own 2005
study on 24-hour cities, which said that this is “not a desirable urban
philosophy for the 21st Century”. Interestingly, in the same 2005
study, “Conflicts of Liveability in the 24-hour City”, where Roberts and her colleague Chris Turner examined the nightlife of London’s Soho, police statistics did not report higher levels of crime, but
noise and traffic levels were higher than in other parts of the city.

“The key
issue,” Roberts stressed, “is to get more people living in town and city centres
in good quality accommodation, because then that can support another kind of
economy based around day-to-day living – not just going out and enjoying
yourself.”

No matter
what shape it takes, a night-time economy relies on a night-time workforce. Night
shift workers are far more prone to having sleep disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, metabolic problems, cancer, diabetes, depression and a number of other health
problems. “Our bodies and our brains are designed to function during the day
and rest at night,” explained David W Ballard, head of the American Psychology
Association’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program. “When you disrupt those natural
circadian rhythms, it affects memory, reaction time, concentration, motivation
and sleep patterns, and can cause chronic fatigue.” This also adversely affects
work performance, leading to higher rates of accidents and errors on the job.

Labour laws
vary from country to country – in the US, for instance, there are virtually
no special constraints placed on overnight work, whereas in Spain, overtime is not allowed for night shift
workers – but the onus is almost always on the employer to regulate night-time working
conditions.

There are a
number of measures employers can take to do this, Ballard said, including: mandating
breaks during shifts, scheduling more demanding work for the beginning of
shifts, making sure employees have access to healthy food options, installing fitness
facilities on premises, providing resources for childcare and involving
employees in shift scheduling decisions. In Las Vegas casinos, for instance,
hourly breaks are often built into shifts, because health research shows that a
higher frequency of short breaks can be more beneficial than just one long
break.

“Creating a
healthy work environment isn’t just a nice thing to do… it’s smart business,”
Ballard insisted, since it can lead to “better product and service quality,
better performance, higher levels of productivity, lower absenteeism, lower
turnover rates, fewer accidents, better customer service ratings… and nowadays,
many companies are concerned with keeping health care costs in check. The
challenge is, the more people that are working overnight, the more support
services you need.”

Travelwise is a BBC Travel column
that goes behind the travel stories to answer common questions, satisfy
uncommon curiosities and uncover some of the mystery surrounding travel. If you
have a burning travel question, contact Travelwise.