24-Hour Cities Against Climate Change nighttime strategies to address the challenges of climate crisis

Our warming world affects every aspect of our lives. For cities, this means hotter temperatures during both day and nighttime, and extreme weather events growing in frequency and severity. In times of climate emergency, planning cities for the night can provide solutions for climate adaptation and resilience strategies—and more generally, improve quality of life for urban residents.

In many cities across the globe, nighttime policies and governance strategies are not just fostering social cohesion or economic development, but are also promoting a wider use of public space and green areas. This event will explore some of the most interesting policies and initiatives carried out by cities in different parts of the world, highlighting how the urban nocturnal dimension can be crucial for improving climate resilience and adaptation, while fostering urban vibrancy.

Cities’ approaches also provide instructive contributions to SDG implementation. The way that cities’ nighttime activities are contributing to these ambitious goals will also be explored in the framework of this conversation, which will involve elected representatives, experts, practitioners and academics.

The event will also explore how the nighttime economy can contribute to reducing emissions, and more generally, promote sustainable practices through collaboration between public authorities, private actors and local communities. Many events and festivals across the world are voluntarily adopting stricter environmental standards to reduce their impact, while arts and culture are playing an important role for climate action in cities. Most of these activities take place at night and are part of the vibrancy of our urban landscape. The creation of new, cross-cutting policy frameworks can contribute to making the night a laboratory for testing innovative solutions. This experimentation can improve the perception of the night as a space for innovation and sustainability for all.