Exploring the Urban Night Through Rhythmanalysis: The Case of Tajrish Square in Tehran

In most Islamic countries, nightlife is not associated with establishments like bars, cabarets, and dance clubs. Instead, the local nightlife is influenced mainly by people's cultural traits, religious values, as well as economic and political circumstances. Applying Lefebvre's Rhythmanalysis approach, this paper investigates how the rhythms of nightlife differ in urban spaces during specific cultural and religious periods of the year in Tajrish Square in Tehran, Iran. Research was carried out during three distinct time periods: the week leading up to Nowruz (the Iranian New Year) in March 2023, Ramadan in April 2023, and ordinary days in May 2023. A combination of methodologies including photography, time-lapse recordings, mapping, observational notes, and semi-structured interviews, was employed to explore the nocturnal rhythms. The findings reveal significant differences in these rhythms across the three periods. While a consistent eurhythmia is observed during regular nights, polyrhythmia manifests during the festive nights preceding Nowruz, influenced by the celebratory atmosphere and seasonal transition. However, during Ramadan, the urban space demonstrates arrhythmia and alterations in normal rhythms, influenced by religious practices and government politics of spatial ordering. The study uncovers also the intricate interplay between global and local, as well as modern and traditional elements, leading to the inclusiveness, gender and age diversity, and multi-functionality of the space, that shape varied urban rhythms. Furthermore, it demonstrates that variations in the physical characteristics and functions of different parts of the study area result in distinct—even contrasting—rhythms occurring at the same time. By incorporating the concept of “time scales” into night-time studies, this article emphasizes the necessity of examining urban rhythms across different temporal contexts. The author argues that rhythmanalysis can serve as a robust methodological approach for exploring the spatial and temporal complexities of urban environments, especially where Western-oriented theories of nightlife may not be applicable.