تحلیل عوامل اثرگذار بر شاخص‌های زیست شبانه شهری مطالعه موردی: شهر بابلسر

ABSTRACT
Night life, as an emerging phenomenon in the field of urban studies, plays an important role in the spatial and temporal transformations of cities and influences sustainable urban development. The present research aims to develop an integrated model of the factors, causes, and consequences of nocturnal life in the city of Babolsar. This study is applied and mixed-method, with data collected from library resources and 9 focus group interviews with various groups. The data were analyzed using the grounded theory method and MaxQDA software to provide a comprehensive and structured perspective on this emerging phenomenon. In the proposed model, each main factor is categorized into five general themes. According to the research findings, laws, regulations, and institutional factors are considered causal conditions in creating the phenomenon of urban nocturnal life in Babolsar's urban areas. Cultural-social factors, economic factors, and physical factors act as intervening conditions; accessibility, transportation factors, and business attraction factors are background conditions. The expansion of facilities and infrastructure to develop social and economic activities, the performance and expertise of municipal managers, and integrated management strategies are considered strategies. The consequences identified include the expansion of the transportation system (positive), the growth of accommodation centers (positive), the undermining of cultural identity (negative), crowded streets, and insecurity (negative). Therefore, for the proper implementation of urban nocturnal life, the formation and participation of experts and specialists to address these factors is essential.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Cities are both the context for social, economic, and physical development and the setting for complex challenges that require careful planning. With the arrival of night, urban landscapes transform, forming a dynamic arena of leisure and entertainment. It should be said that nightlife is a space for social interaction, enhancing well-being and creating creativity and experience. Therefore, these spaces have a significant impact on the life of the city and their management is very important to meet the interests of multiple stakeholders such as merchants, residents, and users. Despite its potential, nightlife in Babolsar has been neglected, and nighttime can be an opportunity for dynamism, social interaction, and improving the quality of urban life. In contemporary cities, urban management focuses on the regeneration and creation of dynamic urban centers, and one of its most important axes is encouraging and supporting nightlife. Although numerous studies have examined the dimensions of nightlife, few have analyzed the factors that shape its formation and sustainability. Therefore, the present study seeks to answer the question:
-What are the factors affecting urban nightlife with a qualitative approach?
Nightlife studies, as a branch of urban research, emerged in the late twentieth century; Cremona (2014) first proposed it in relation to changes in urban nightlife. Hence, nightlife is a set of round-the-clock activities and services, such as food, drink, and entertainment, that continue late into the night. The research background shows that the expansion of urbanization and changing patterns of urban life, especially at night, have heightened attention to the relationship between citizens and the urban environment. Hence, the quality of nightlife is influenced by social, economic, physical, and infrastructural factors and affects the security, social interactions, and economic performance of the city; these factors are the main objective of the research. The innovation of this research lies in focusing on urban nightlife in a medium-sized city like Babolsar and in using a qualitative approach with direct citizen participation. Using MAXQDA software in coding and analyzing data increased the accuracy and transparency of the research, and combining lived experiences with scientific analysis is the main distinguishing feature of this study compared to previous research.
 
Methodology
This research is classified as applied research in terms of its purpose and, for data collection, uses a mixed-methods approach with an emphasis on qualitative and quantitative methods. The study population consisted of citizens selected through purposive sampling. The selection criteria were residence in the city, experience or knowledge related to the research topic, and willingness to participate in the research process actively.
At the beginning of each session, the researcher presented the topic in simple, clear language, and then facilitated group discussions to exchange views and collect qualitative data. The researcher, in the role of facilitator, guided the session and recorded all data. Subsequently, the collected data were coded, categorized, and analyzed using MAXQDA software to extract and interpret the main themes. In this section, the researcher interpreted, coded, and categorized the data using the problem tree and content analysis of the interviews. Grounded Theory served as the main basis for presenting the findings, and samples from city areas were selected based on frequency and expert opinion. Next, based on research needs and expert opinion, samples were selected from different areas of the city (based on frequency).
 
Results and discussion
To analyze the findings, the interview data were coded in three stages as first, open coding identified 39 semantic units; then, with axial coding, similar codes were organized into the aggregation unit and 15 subcategories. In the third step, by reviewing and combining the categories and examining the relationships of the subcategories, six main categories were identified as urban laws and regulations, management and institutions, social and cultural factors, access and transportation, business attractions, and urban facilities and equipment.
The factors of urban laws and regulations were identified in three subcategories: implementation of night-time electricity regulations, productivity and profitability, diversity and change of use, and life cycle dynamics. The managerial and institutional factors were identified in three axial codes: legal laws and regulations, performance and expertise of the responsible organizations, and integrated and coordinated management of managers. The social and cultural factors were revealed in four codes: social norms, levels of public awareness among citizens, population structure, and the creation of social trust. Accessibility and transportation factors in traffic control and business attractions in higher-income areas were revealed.
In this issue, both positive and negative consequences were revealed, including the existence of transportation systems and residential centers for urban nightlife, and the deterioration of cultural identity and the crowding of streets.
Causal conditions in the creation and expansion of urban nightlife include two main categories as follows:
-Urban laws and regulations: including the implementation of night-time electricity regulations, productivity and profitability resulting from diversity and change of use, and the dynamics of the life cycle.
-Management and institutional factors: including legal laws and regulations, the expertise and performance of the governing organizations, and the integrated and coordinated management of managers.
Intervening conditions are factors that affect the occurrence of the phenomenon; in the model, social and cultural factors, including social norms, public awareness, population structure, and social trust, were identified as such.
In the social norm factors section, experts cite the development of cultural tourism activities, increased security for women in urban nightlife, social and cultural solidarity among citizens, and the diversification of nightlife-related social activities as effective.
Among the factors influencing public awareness, improving citizens' recognition is effective. In the demographic structure section, controlling the population and using the neighborhood's internal and external textures are effective strategies. In fostering social trust, experts say the expansion of urbanization and marginalization in the nightlife space, the development of equipped textures, and proximity to densely populated areas are effective.
In the background factors section, the factors: access and transportation are effective, according to experts.
In some areas of Babolsar, participants also stated that under this factor, two factors as lack of access to parking and lack of a public transportation system around the clock are effective in urban nightlife.
In the aforementioned model, to explain the phenomenon of urban nightlife, the strategic factor of "urban facilities and equipment" has been defined in terms of actor interactions. In Babolsar, municipalities are responsible for implementing programs and activities related to nightlife in urban areas.
“In this regard, citizens believed that if nightlife activities lead to economic and social development, it will be effective.”
In the economic dimension, “Such activities should lead to the development of employment opportunities and the reduction of unemployment, urban economic prosperity, and the creation of competitiveness for the benefit of citizens.”
In the social dimension, “Such activities create vitality, create opportunities for creating a new identity, strengthen social capital, and form family groups.”
In the physical dimension, “they provide accessibility, lighting, and color, and give identity to old textures.”
In this category, two outcomes were identified as positive and negative. Among the positive outcomes, the night transportation system includes indicators such as the availability of substitute devices and reliable night transportation. Also, residential centers that include indicators such as safe nighttime operation, recreating the historical landscape, organizing new facilities, and revitalizing cultural uses are important to respondents.
Two negative consequences of this issue are the deterioration of cultural identity and street crowding.
The study's findings show that, as Robert and Eldering (2022) also stated, urban nightlife is one of the factors affecting the prosperity of social and economic activities at night, most closely related to recreational and entertainment activities. In this context, the production of product-related businesses is also considered another effective factor; these findings are consistent with those of Ya (2014) and Kay (2025) in the physical dimension, especially regarding the role of smart lighting. Also, as Kramer and Witan (2023) have stated, people's sense of greater freedom from social rules and norms leads to the conversion of unused spaces into urban nightlife. However, in addition to this, the study area and, consequently, some areas of this area have caused the abandonment of its historical areas. In fact, it is consistent with the findings of Robert and Eldering (2022). Because they believe that if urban resources and potentials are used properly, it will improve the quality of human life.
Therefore, nightlife activities in the “social dimension strengthen vitality, new identity, and social capital.” These results are consistent with the research of Yahyaei et al. (2021), which shows that in Rasht, leveraging the dead hours of the night, diverse uses and services, appropriate furniture, and vitality solutions have increased citizen presence and shaped nightlife in selected locations.
The findings showed that in the “management and institutional dimension, laws and regulations, the performance and expertise of the responsible organizations, and integrated and coordinated management play an effective role.” These results are consistent with the research of Sajjadzadeh and Bahar (2022), who identified monitoring, responsive management, and the quality of the environment and the cultural level of the space as key factors for citizens. Also, the climatic and cultural characteristics of Hamedan have led to nightlife taking shape more as family and group gatherings in urban spaces.
 
Conclusion
Intending to comprehensively understand the factors and motivations, the present study has developed a theoretical model of urban nightlife based on the coding of interviews and has described the main factors in 5 categories (causal, intervening, contextual, strategies, and consequences) and three general categories (cause, factors, and consequences).
In the meantime, the correct rules for creating urban nightlife, the performance and management of municipal managers, and the level of citizens' awareness of its consequences were also identified as strategies. The consequences of the phenomenon in the aforementioned model were also identified as improvements across the social, economic, environmental, and cultural dimensions.
Finally, it can be said that urban nightlife is influenced by four main categories of factors: causal conditions including infrastructure, security, transportation and access to public spaces; intervening conditions including policies, urban management programs, cultural and economic events; limiting conditions such as negative attitudes, lack of recreational facilities, focus on daily activities and increasing land prices; and consequences including urban vitality and attractiveness, social participation, economic development and strengthening cultural identity; Analyzing these factors allows for the design of effective policies and programs for sustainable and dynamic nightlife.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.