Spatial dynamics in the urban playscape: Turin by night

摘要

Recent transformations in the nightlife of city centres in Europe have brought the relationship between urban spaces and forms of consumption by young people into a sharper focus for urban planners and policy-makers. In this article the concept of 'playscape' is presented in a framework of reflections on urban renewal and spatial development. After introducing the case of Turin, a northwest Italian city with a profound industrial heritage, the analysis explores its night-time recreational space, in particular by presenting maps and classifications in terms of the location of pubs, bars, clubs and music venues. Particularly, the analysis examines the city's playscape in two different moments: in 2008 and fifteen years before. The dynamics of the spaces of urban leisure and renewal in an urban centre characterised by a strong Fordist past provide the basis for reflections on new forms of the centralisation and marginalisation of specific spaces, venues, populations and parts of the city.