All work, no play? - How the city of Rotterdam can balance a liveable city with facilitating its cultural nightlife.

Over the last years, there has been growing friction between the Rotterdam nightlife sector and the city’s municipality. Complaints of miscommunication, lack of vision and lack of responsibility have been uttered by both sides. Therefore, this research asks: to what extent can the municipality of Rotterdam balance its cultural nightlife with the liveability of the city in the coming years? The study comprises examinations of existing theory on cultural nightlife, liveability, successful cultural policy measures and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a range of different stakeholders and actors of the Rotterdam nightlife sector. The results of the interviews were categorised in the core themes relating to nightlife (facilitation). While the discussion on individual themes and concepts lead to quite universal ideas and visions, it found that the issue of a city’s nightlife as a whole is complex and interwoven with almost all other facets of organising city life. Some possible focus points for nightlife policy were identified as a result of the interviews, but to truly facilitate a safe, varied and flourishing nightlife, long-term vision, intense collaboration, customization and multi-disciplinary approaches within and between the municipality and external bodies are necessary.