Spatiotemporal variations in nightlife consumption: A comparison of students in two Dutch cities

Jelle Brands, Tim Schwanen, Irina van Aalst

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This paper extends the Human Geography literature about the night-time economy through a comparative,
time-geographical and quantitative analysis of nightlife consumption practices during students'
nights out in the city-centres of the Dutch cities of Utrecht and Rotterdam. Considerable variation in
nightlife practices between and within these cities is revealed with the help of cluster and discriminant
analyses. For both cities five distinctive types of nightlife consumption are identified, and comparison
shows that nightlife practices in Utrecht's city-centre are characterised by a stronger orientation towards
bars/pubs and greater alcohol consumption, spatial clustering and ethnic homogeneity than in Rotterdam.
It is also demonstrated that, contra some public discourses about the night-time economy, some
types of city-centre nightlife practices are not characterised by excessive alcohol consumption. Finally,
the analysis suggests that students' participation in different types of nightlife consumption in Utrecht
and Rotterdam are only to some extent shaped by age, ethnicity, class and gender; education is most
strongly associated with the type of nightlife consumption pursued, and this dimension should be given
greater attention in future research on exclusion from the urban night-time economy.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)96-109
Number of pages14
JournalApplied Geography
Volume54
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

Keywords

  • Nightlife
  • Night-time economy
  • Consumption
  • Exclusion
  • Alcohol
  • The Netherlands

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