Comparative study of the use of public space between day and night

Case study: Madrid, Spain

Abstract

This research addressed the transformation of daytime and nighttime spaces through a comparative analysis of the use of selected streets in the Centro and Carabanchel districts of Madrid. Using a qualitative methodology complemented by quantitative tools, techniques such as the creation of GIS characterization maps of the study area, participatory observation, photographic recording, situated interviews, and subsequent data processing into sheets, diagrams, and matrices were implemented. This allowed for a comprehensive understanding of urban functioning during four key time zones: morning, afternoon, midnight, and early morning.

The results revealed significant differences in terms of vitality, accessibility, comfort, perception of safety, and types of public space use, both between the streets and between the selected study areas. The city center displays functional continuity and high dynamism across all time zones, associated with its symbolic centrality, its commercial diversity, and its active nightlife. However, significant variations were identified among the streets analyzed: those with higher levels of comfort, accessibility, and diversity of uses tend to maintain continuous use throughout the day and night. In contrast, other streets show substantial transformations depending on the time zone: some have little activity during the day but become intensely active at night, characterized by high levels of socialization and nighttime urban dynamics. Others, however, operate as commercial and connection hubs during the day, but empty out at night and are reduced to mere travel corridors, with no activities associated with public spaces or interaction on the ground floor.

In contrast, Carabanchel presents a pattern of greater activity during the day and a partial contraction at night, influenced by its predominantly residential morphology and the limited presence of nighttime activities. However, this decline does not imply a total absence of nightlife: activity was recorded on streets with bars and those with public transport hubs, especially linked to commuting home at night. These findings underscore the importance of considering not only leisure but also daily mobility as a structuring factor in the nighttime use of space.

The analysis was complemented by comparative matrices and summary diagrams, which allowed us to identify that some streets maintain active and diverse profiles, while others present more restricted dynamics or are segmented by time zone, gender, or functionality. The research showed that nighttime is not experienced or inhabited homogeneously, revealing inequalities in the distribution of urban resources and the appropriation of public space. Furthermore, a marked exclusion of groups such as the elderly and people with disabilities during the early morning hours was evident, as well as a difference in the perception of nighttime space by women compared to men, reflecting a structural relegation of these profiles in the current configuration of urban nighttime space.

This research aims to make nighttime visible as a legitimate dimension of the right to the city, which requires integration into urban policies based on criteria of inclusion, equity, and security, promoting strategies that favor diverse uses, plural appropriations, and extended habitability with improved comfort and urban structure beyond daylight hours.