Travel and Nighttime Cultural Economies: A participatory workshop

We propose a participatory workshop. Designed to foster dialogue and generate practical insights into the challenges facing night-time cultural mobility in the region.

Opening Words (5 mins): Brief welcome, introductions, and an outline of the session’s purpose.

Interactive Quiz (30 mins): A fun, engaging quiz focused on night-time transport statistics and issues, to spark conversation and surface preconceptions.

Presentation (15 mins): A visual presentation of maps developed by the LMMP team for West Midlands Growth Company, showing key patterns and gaps in transport infrastructure. With references from the produced report.

Break (20 mins).

Interactive Mapping Activity (20 mins): Using provided tablets, guests will be invited to explore an interactive map produced by our collaboration with West Midlands Growth Company. The map will display a selection of pre-collected data detailing night-economy workers’ commutes and how this aligns with public transport infrastructure. Invitees will be encouraged to add their own routes to the map and reflect on any misalignments between night-time journeys and public transport links.

Reflections & Wrap-Up (10 Mins): An open discussion inviting reflections on shared themes, followed by a summary of key insights.

After a successful research project with West Midlands Growth Company. This workshop has been created to support the development of night-time transport in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. It offers insights into some of the most impactful challenges facing individuals who work in or use the night-time economy— particularly those linked to accessibility, safety, and mobility. In addition, the session will present early insights from our ‘West Midlands Night-time Visitors Economy and public transport’ research project.

Owayne Smith, PhD Researcher at Aston University. Greg Sharpe, PhD Researcher at Aston University. Dr. Patrycja Rozbicka, Senior Lecturer in Society and Politics at Aston University (speaker).

Focusing on Travel and Nighttime Cultural Economies, this participatory workshop is open to a broad range of stakeholders influencing the West Midlands Nighttime and cultural landscape. This includes local residents, musicians, cultural workers, students, venue owners, night-staff, transport providers, policymakers, and representatives from local government. The event encourages diverse participation to ensure inclusive dialogue safety, mobility, access, and sustainability in the city’s night-time environment.

City planners, local government, and transport providers, who influence infrastructure, policy, and funding decisions. Venue operators and event promoters, as they directly contribute to the nighttime economy and face challenges around licensing, safety, and transport. Night-time economy workers such as bar-staff, musicians and creative performers, security personal, hospitality employees and late shift retail and healthcare staff – who rely on public transport infrastructure.

28/10/2025