Rhythmanalysis of Urban Events: Empirical Elements from the Montreux Jazz Festival

Abstract

This article proposes an original approach to urban events mapping. At the theoretical level, the article is based on rhythmanalysis and recent research on urban rhythms. It contrasts with previous research by departing from everyday rhythms to tackle the specific rhythms of urban events. Drawing on this theoretical framework, the article proposes to analyse the rhythms of the Montreux Jazz Festival. The article proposes two main types of rhythmic scales, linked with the historical development of the Festival and its annual performance. The methodology is based on a mixed method of data collection and an original analysis framework. The analysis of the historical rhythm is carried out based on the analysis of the festival archives and interviews with experts. The analysis uses the Time Machine visualisation device that reveals three processes of urban resonance: the spread, which shows how the festival is integrated into the existing urban fabric; the openness, which shows accessibility; and the grip, which seeks to evaluate the urban sphere of influence of the event. These different visualisations are enriched by the addition of other data, including ticket scanning and commercial transactions that show the alternance between high and low-intensity periods. These allowed us to not only confirm the impact of programming on flows, but also the effects of the wider organisation of the leisure system. The results of the analysis show that the intertwining of the two rhythmic scales produces a hyper-place that resonates both internationally and locally.

Ville et créativité

“…Étant donné la diversité des domaines de recherche et des objets, certains auteurs considèrent que ces ensembles de réflexions re lativement hétérogènes demandent à être intégrés dans une science gé nérale des processus de territorialisation et de socialisation en mettant en perspective les mélodies et les refrains des territoires et des relations so ciales (Brighenti et Kärrholm 2018). En touchant notamment aux domaines de l'aménagement du territoire, le rythme apparaît également comme un levier de régulation des pressions sur les environnements na turels, les milieux urbains (Drevon et al 2020a) et permettrait également de réduire les différentes formes de saturations présentes dans nos vies et dans nos villes .…”

Integrative Analysis of Rhythmicity: From Biology to Urban Environments and Sustainability

“…Their examination of the activity rhythms showed that a street classification framework based on temporal street activity patterns can identify street categories at a finer granularity than other current methods, which can offer useful implications for state-of-the-art urban management and planning. Furthermore, in their study, Drevon et al [39] addressed the rhythm-analytic approach to large urban events in order to confirm the impact of the event program and its structure on flows, oscillations between high-and low-intensity periods and the effects of the wider organisation of the leisure system. The circadian visualisation reveals the spread, which shows how the festival is integrated into the existing urban fabric, the openness, which shows accessibility, and the grip, which seeks to evaluate the wider influence of the event enriched by the addition of other data, including ticket scanning and commercial transactions.…”

“…It has been determined that various processes in our cities follow rhythmical patterns, and thus detailed analysis of rhythmicity (on a daily basis, weekly basis, seasonally, etc.) can extend the excavation of efficiency metrics, which depend on different factors (e.g., type of day (weekend or workday), weather conditions and time of year) and represent an important step in research supporting data-driven urban planning, responsive policies and management [37,39,41]. We should further extend these with the application of the proposed research in various monitoring scopes, from resource efficiency and sustainability to dwelling quality within smart city environments, with inputs ranging from vehicle count sensors, emissions and noise sensors, pedestrian sensing or passenger counts to other open repositories of governments or municipalities (e.g., energy consumption indicators or city overheating data or patterns) or citizen science-based infrastructures and their wider applicability.…”