The Night Shift

I was talking with a few of my more nocturnal friends, and it seems that we are in agreement that it would be very nice indeed were it possible for companies to run proper night shifts. By that I do mean professional shift work across the board, rather than the usual select few professions. Realistically, there is no reason for modern cities to stick to the traditional agrarian schedule. True, the pragmatists would argue that the agrarian 9-5 is the current de facto standard and that we should adapt to it. However, I think the time is also ripe for societies and economies to consider viable alternatives. With modern technologies, work is no longer bound to the cycle of the sun, and it is every bit a realistic option to have work done in the dead of night. Now, consider the cost of running a city approximately half of its potential 24 productive hours. For starters, the largely monolithic clock creates peak hours that cause major congestion. Moreover, it makes for deserted times where crime becomes a fairly viable option. Not to mention the economic cost of having stuff shut down for about half a day either way. Running a proper night city will mitigate that, along with the silliness whereby retail stores close at precisely the same time that offices are open. And in a city, that's precisely when everyone's just not free to do any shopping. If anyone is willing to think about it, that really doesn't make sense. Of course, in order to pull off the vision of a night city, it needs to be run as a complete system. I've seen how the cities creep towards the night concept, with 24 hour supermarkets and cinemas running past 12 midnight, but all in all it remains a fringe activity at best. Without childcare, schools, offices and such running the night shift as well, it becomes extremely difficult to get things moving properly. Given the right stimulus, however, I foresee the 24 hour city can be a rather enriching approach for any city that implements it.