While nightlife often gets stigmatized and undervalued, progressive club coalitions and night mayors are making an economic and cultural argument for a vital after-hours economy For all the value city dwellers place on great nightlife, it often feels like the venues, artists, and creatives behind this vital part of urban life are often misunderstood at best, and criticized at worst, by city governments. Recent evidence in cities across the country and the globe suggests as much.
In London, the iconic nightclub Fabric, arguably one of the most famous in the world, is facing a licensing hearing after a pair of drug-related deaths killed two patrons earlier this summer; an outpouring of support, including from newly elected Mayor Sadiq Khan, still hasn?t saved the venue. In Chicago, county officials are levying a retroactive amusement tax on smaller clubs that play dance music and hip-hop, among other genres, arguing that these types of music aren?t "art"; the ruling means these small businesses lose a vital tax exemption and could be driven out of business. And, in gentrified corners of many cities, such as Williamsburg in Brooklyn, music venues are battling rising rents and slimmer profit margins. Nightlife can have its share of issues. But according to Lutz Leichsenring, a former promoter and now spokesman for Berlin?s Clubcommission, an industry group that lobbies for pro-nightlife legislation and serves as a voice for the community, m...