Abstract
This qualitative research, informed by the controversy around the new zoning plan for the creative and nightlife hub of Schiekadeblok in the city center of post-industrial city of Rotterdam, explores the impact of neoliberalization of the nightlife sector on young creatives with the objective of articulating alternative concerns from disempowered youth groups. Using purposive sampling within the researcher’s own social network a varied selection of young creatives was interviewed using a semi-structured approach. The data was coded using both in-vivo and theoretically informed codes, using Young’s politics of difference and Chatterton & Hollands’s mainstreaming of nightlife. The findings reveal that young creatives struggle with the loss creative spaces to express themselves and limited opportunities for creative programming causing them to experience exclusion from the policy agenda This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of neoliberalization in mainstreaming nightlife and consequently inhibiting differentiated city life. The research critically asserts the need for democratic participation in urban decision-making as foundational to a just city.
Keywords: Urban policy, Young creatives, neoliberalization, mainstream nightlife, Politics of difference.
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