2.1.6 Jan Gehls theory on human activities

Nocturnal terrain in metro cities

transgressive behavior is aggravated, and therefore must be meticulously supervised. Strict regulations and controls often give way to the manifestations of homogeneous nightlife districts that combine shops, restaurants, and bars where locals and tourists can interact amid a safe and sanitized nocturnal terrain.

A contrasting concept of “terrain vague” (architect Ignasi de Solà-Morales), term refers to the spontaneous and artistic appropriation of unproductive urban spaces. It is contemporary space of project and design that includes the marginal wastelands and vacant lots that are located outside the city’s productive spaces – which Morales describes as oversights in the landscape that are mentally exterior in the physical interior of the city. ("Review of 'Terrain Grichting, Anna).

For example, Professor Yasser Elsheshtawy explained how labourers and migrant workers in Arabian cities take over patches of grass, alleys, and abandoned buildings as meeting, gathering and resting spots after the day hours as these groups have very limited access to parks and other public spaces, most of which are closed after dark. For other groups, the desert provides an ideal place for barbecues, games and smoking shisha—activities that are banned at public parks all the while taking advantage of the night-time cooler temperatures. These unintended use of urban spaces helps in strategizing on how to design inclusive night-time interventions.

2.1.4 Human behavior during the day and night

The requirements in attracting people to the nocturnal terrain is similar to the day time. The view of the city at night and day are the two sides of the same coin. Natural light and heat from the sun is the major difference between the factors that make up the terrain at night and the day. The differences can be pointed out mainly by the change in the city’s climate and environment, the change in the life of people between day and night where it transforms from work during day to leisure at night and the difference in activities in urban public spaces during day and night. During day, the cyclical changes in the position of sun through the day has multiple effects on the human mind and the city. These changes can make the city seem different in different periods of through

Marian College of Architecture and Planning, Thiruvananthapuram 17