Your night out starts before you leave home: UNSW researcher
UNSW Sydney
As NSW seeks to grow its night-time economy, UNSW research points to the less visible parts of the experience: transport home, the availability of toilets, clear footpaths and free experiences.
As the City of Sydney seeks feedback on plans to establish entertainment precincts across more than 20 areas of the city, built environment expert Dr Fatemeh Aminpour says that there are many everyday details that can influence whether people feel able to take part in city life after dark.
“People often talk about nightlife as what happens inside a venue. But the whole journey matters and it starts at home: whether you can find out what to expect, how you get there, what the surrounding streets are like and whether you can get back home safely,” says Dr Aminpour.
“For some people, the challenge is an unreliable trip home. For others, it is finding a toilet that is open, navigating a crowded footpath or managing the transition from a quiet street to a busy precinct,” she says.
Drawing on research exploring how neurodivergent adults experience public open spaces in the City of Sydney, Dr Aminpour says that amenity is important when it comes to creating a vibrant city.
“Our study was not an evaluation of NSW’s night-time economy reforms,” she explains. “But participants’ experiences raise questions for councils and planners as they make it easier to activate streets and extend the range of activities available after dark.”
A journey can shape the decision to go out
Unreliable transport can make a trip to the city feel too risky to attempt, shared one study participant. Others limited their travel to nearby postcodes because going further could feel like “a day trip”.
For people who rely on public transport or lifts from others, the availability of a service is only part of the picture. Its reliability and frequency can also affect whether a night out feels manageable.
“Being able to get to an entertainment precinct and get home predictably should be part of how we think about a vibrant night-time economy,” says Dr Aminpour. “If the journey is too uncertain, people may decide not to go.”
This is particularly important given that most night-time spending across Greater Sydney follows a trip.
The essentials between venues
Toilets were a high-priority amenity for participants, shaping route choices and advance planning. Not knowing where to find one could be stressful, particularly when facilities that are available during the day close at night.
Dr Aminpour says information about public amenities should be easy to find before people set out, including which toilets are open after dark.
“Lighting also matters,” she says. “Participants described glare, flicker and abrupt changes in lighting as difficult to manage. These experiences suggest that lighting decisions can consider sensory comfort alongside visibility and safety.”
Footpaths presented another challenge. Café seating, queues and crowds near bus and light rail stops could reduce the space available for walking, particularly at busy times.
The issue was not that people wanted streets to be empty, according to Dr Aminpour. Participants recognised that outdoor dining and crowds are part of city life. They wanted a clear walking path, with queues and seating kept out of it.
This matters because the NSW Government’s Vibrancy Reforms make it easier for venues to use footpaths and streets for outdoor dining and other activities.
“Vibrancy means people are using a place,” she says. “But the public space also needs to work for the people moving through it, including people who need more room or a quieter place to pause.”
More than pubs and clubs
The reforms aim to broaden what a night out might entail.
State of the Night 2025 links going out to the loneliness epidemic. It also says the reforms responded to ‘a night-time economy (NTE) overly reliant on late-night drinking’ and ‘intentionally shift the NTE toward a broader mix of cultural, creative, dining, entertainment and community-based activity’.
But the main incentives still reward licensed venues: an 80% reduction in liquor licence fees and two hours' extended trading on nights with live music.
“While the aim is right, the incentives lag behind it,” says Dr Aminpour.
Participants in her study valued free, informal ways to spend time with others, such as markets and community gatherings.
“A lot of nice, entertaining places to go are not free,” one participant said. “So, it’s nice to have spaces to do activities where it's a free activity for you to do.”
Another described the importance of simply being around people: “I am a very lonely person. I can't stay at home on my own all day.”
Dr Aminpour says these experiences broaden the question of what a successful night-time economy looks like. Alongside venues, she says, cities can support cultural, creative and community activities that give people different ways to participate.
Getting that right means involving neurodivergent people at the start of precinct planning, before plans are drawn up. “Neuroinclusion is a structural quality, and structural qualities are decided early, or not at all,” she says.
All users benefit from the kinds of inclusive adjustments that make the city work for people who are neurodivergent.
“Planning the night should include the trip there, the time in the precinct and the trip home,” says Dr Aminpour. “And understanding what needs to be considered can be as simple as walking an area with people who use it to reveal things that are easy to miss on a map.”
Contact details:
For enquiries about this story and interview requests please contact Samantha Dunn
Phone: 0414 924 364
Email: [email protected]