We need to talk about the night. If cities are now recognised as engines of an increasingly ‘24/7’ economy, little attention is paid to what happens in urban centres at night and even less so to those workers who keep cities functioning after-hours and support a $174bn Australian night-time economy.
The Night Shift research project aims to bring much-needed attention to the workers who sustain the night time economy in Australian cities. Funded by the Australian Research Council and delivered by researchers at the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne, the project began in 2022. The research team comprises:
- Prof. Michele Acuto
- Prof. Alison Young
- Dr Anna Edwards
- Jesse Mentha
- Dr Renee Miller-Yeaman
The project investigates the conditions, contributions, voices and spaces of night-time workers in Australian cities, collaborating with local governments and industry experts to advance 'night literacy' in urban development. Fieldwork interviews have taken place with night workers across key cities and industries. Particular focus has been given to:
- Street cleansing and maintenance workers in Adelaide
- Music and hospitality workers in Canberra
- Health, homelessness, and delivery workers in Melbourne
Project Highlights
- Hosting international Night Mayors: A two-day event held in Melbourne in May 2023 brought together international Night Mayors, academics and policymakers. Held in collaboration with the City of Melbourne and NSW Government, the event explored discussions around challenges and solutions associated with night shift work. It built upon the NEON conference held in Sydney, at which the Night Shift team presented work and facilitated panel sessions.
- Presentation at the British Society of Criminology Conference: The team presented their research on the “Crime Scenes of Night Work” at the British Society of Criminology Conference in Glasgow, contributing to the broader academic discourse on night time economies.
- Map of the Month: Collaborating with our colleagues at the Centre for Cities on a project that delivered two maps; one on night workers and one on public transport at night in Melbourne.
- Collaboration with University College London (UCL): The project has resulted in ongoing collaboration with academics based at UCL who are also interested in night work research. This has involved visits to the University of Melbourne by UCL academics, and vice versa. During the visits, we have engaged in round table discussions, presentations and night walks, with academic papers relating to this collaboration in the pipeline.
- Engagement with the City of Adelaide Council: The team has worked closely with the City of Adelaide Council, interviewing seventeen of their City Operations workers involved in street cleansing and horticultural night shift work. The Night Shift team members have also participated in the Council’s annual night safety walk program, auditing locations around the city’s nightlife precinct between the hours of midnight and 5am with City of Adelaide, South Australia Police and youth not-for-profit representatives. We have been sharing our findings with the Council, who are using our research to inform night time policy.
- Night-time 360° footage: The Night Shift team have worked with the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning’s Built Environments Learning +Teaching (BEL+T) team to prepare immersive 360° footage at several points across the City of Adelaide and City of Melbourne, embedded with contextual information. https://abp-belt.researchsoftware.unimelb.edu.au/360tours/2023/nightshift/vsv/
- Research collaboration on workplace sexual harassment: In collaboration with Jamie Bucirde and Prof. Bianca Fileborn testimonials were analysed from 359 hospitality workers in Adelaide who had experienced sexual harassment and/or assault in the workplace. The research had a direct impact on the South Australian Government introducing mandatory training to protect hospitality workers.
- Opportunities for PhD and ECR Fellows: The project has supported four PhD and ECR Fellows working across architecture, urban design and economic development:
- Khilda Wildana Nur, PhD Candidate RMIT University
- Zaid O. Saeed, PhD Candidate Curtin University
- Yiwei Zhou, PhD Candidate Tsinghua University
- Alessio Kolioulis ECR UCL Urban Economic Development
Publications
- Acuto, M., Edwards, A., Bassett, S., Seijas, A. & Leon, L. (2023). Night Time Economy Commissions: a Review of International Case Studies. A Summary for Policymakers. Melbourne: Melbourne Centre for Cities, the University of Melbourne.
- Acuto, M., Seijas, A., Edwards, A. & Bassett, S. (2023). Meeting afterhours: on the work that night commissions do. Urban Geography, online first (open access), pp.18-.
- Bucirde, J., Edwards, A., & Fileborn, B. (2024). Not So Hospitable: Sexual harassment in the Adelaide hospitality industry. Melbourne Centre for Cities, University of Melbourne.
- Edwards, A., Michele, A., Alison, Y., & Jesse, M. (2024). NIGHT SHIFTS IN AUSTRALIA: How Many People Work in the Night-Time Economy? A Review of Current Evidence. In NIGHT SHIFTS IN AUSTRALIA: How Many People Work in the Night-Time Economy? A Review of Current Evidence. Melbourne Centre for Cities, University of Melbourne.
Media
- Night mayors on Lonsdale Street - in the Age, 6 May 2023 / Meet the Night Mayors - in Sundays with Lisa, ABC Radio 7 May 2023
- Acuto, M. & Edwards, A. (2024) Mapping the hidden lives of Melbourne’s night workers, Pursuit, 12 June 2024.
- Edwards, A. & Acuto, M. (2024) Is Melbourne really a 24-hour city if public transport stops?, Pursuit, 4 July 2024.
- Combatting sexual harassment in hospitality. (2024, September 13). ABC Listen. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/blueprintforliving/sexual-harassment-in-hospitality/104342366
- Australia, P. of S. (2024, June 20). Mandatory training to protect hospitality workers (South Australia) [Text]. Premier of South Australia. https://www.premier.sa.gov.au/media-releases/news-archive/mandatory-training-to-protect-hospitality-workers
