Santiago-Iglesias, E., Romanillos, G., Sun, W., Schmöcker, J. D., Moya-Gómez, B. and García-Palomares, J.C. (2024). Light in the Darkness: Urban Nightlife, Analyzing the Impact and Recovery of COVID-19 using Mobile Phone Data. Cities.

City nightlife supports a significant part of our social interactions, enhancing social wellbeing and community-building dynamics. COVID-19 pandemic has affected all kinds of human activities, but the impact on nightlife has been particularly dramatic and expanded over time. Few studies have analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nightlife, providing insights into its effects on specific sectors or offering more general but limited explorations. Its recovery, however, remains even less explored. This study examines the post-COVID-19 recovery of nightlife using mobile phone data in Kyoto (Japan) and Madrid (Spain), two cities with different culture and whose urban nightlife was heavily impacted. A detailed spatiotemporal analysis of the nightlife activity in both cities is conducted, considering three temporal weeks. The methodology is based on the estimation of the hourly presence of people over the course of the day, with a particular focus on evening and night hours. Kyoto, heavily dependent on tourism, faced a more pronounced and lasting impact. Despite fewer constraints, revitalizing nightlife in Kyoto proves challenging compared to other sectors. Madrid reveals a shift in urban dynamics following the pandemic, influencing the utilization of different areas within the city.