ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the representation of the urban night, looking both at how the night appears in culture and how this connects to lived experiences of the city. From an aesthetic perspective, it shows how an understanding of the aesthetics associated with the night-time city can aid an understanding of 'the body and its place within the world'. The chapter focuses on representations of the city and their connection to the lived landscapes of night. It argues that, as well as the darkness and intrigue of the classic 'Gothic' night-time city, depictions of night have treated it as both spectacular – as a space of embodied possibilities – and as spectacle – as a space of fascination. The chapter develops the aspect of urban nocturnal aesthetics by looking at the role that night plays in globalized place-marketing strategies.
