On April 7, 2025, I was invited to deliver a conference titled “Sociologie de la nuit: interactions, politiques publiques, culture et transformation urbaine” at Université Hassan II de Casablanca. The event was hosted by the Laboratoire de Recherche LADSIS and the Master in Social Institutions Dynamics (DIS).
In my talk, I shared insights from recent research into how the urban night is shaped by a dynamic interplay of social interactions, public policies, cultural practices, and urban transformations. Drawing on empirical cases from Europe and Latin America, I argued that the night is not merely a temporal frame, but a contested and creative social space that demands tailored governance and interpretative tools.
As founder of the International Night Studies Network (INSN), I also reflected on the growing international interest in nighttime sociology and the need for transdisciplinary approaches to understand how cities evolve after dark. Themes such as nocturnal leisure, cultural events, regulation, and visibility of marginalized communities were at the core of the discussion.
The event, moderated by Professor Sana Benbelli, was held in the Doctoral Room and gathered an engaged audience of students and researchers interested in the sociopolitical and cultural stakes of the night in the Moroccan and global context.
Many thanks to the organizers and participants for the invitation and the warm welcome in Casablanca!
Manuel Garcia-Ruiz 