Concepts such as “the 24-hour open city” or “the leisure city” highlight not only the importance of the urban night in the revitalization of many post-industrial cities but also the growing nocturnalization of everyday life in Western society. The night-time economy has become a key feature of the urban economy, a crucial element of many city’s branding strategy and international reputation, and an important factor in tourism competitiveness .Yet, despite these potentialities, the development of nightlife is also characterized by negative trends. The night-time economy remains clearly segmented socially, racially and spatially. It is strongly dominated by white youth (15-35 years) and non-whites, the lower social classes, women and elderly people are (to some extent) excluded. At the same time, the recent expansion of the night-time economy causes problems like increased noise pollution and anti-social or violent behaviors often related to excessive alcohol and drugs consumption (Gwiazdzinski, 2007). Despite the growing number of studies concerned with these dynamics , some issues remain unaddressed in existing night-time studies. In particular, the effects produced by the recent expansion of university student-oriented nightlife in several medium-size university cities have received little attention. This might be related to the existing lack of preparedness for the current rise of several nightlife-related problems in numerous medium-size university cities (Crozat, 2008). Indeed several cities are experiencing an increase of critical problems regarding the co-existence of residential communities and alcohol-fueled nightlife entertainment uses (Nofre et al., 2017; Nofre et al., 2018). These dynamics are currently undermining community liveability during night-time hours and putting at risk the sustainable coexistence of diverse urban social groups. The aim of this project is to form the knowledge basis to develop sustainable university student-oriented nightlife policies in medium-size university cities, by unravelling the sources of inequalities and conflicts that arise from the recent expansion of university student-oriented nightlife. -In this study, night life is defined as the consumption practices and social activities realized at night time by youth and people in other age groups that take place in the public space or in nightlife establishments, such as pubs, clubs, cinemas and theatres, as well as in facilities and events specifically dedicated to students-. These issues are clearly a theoretical scope but they cannot find answer only as part of a rigorous empirical approach through a reasoned comparison method. The project combines researchers who have demonstrated by their work (theses of doctorate and publications) of their ability to explore on one hand the evolution of the urban night and on the other hand the experience of the young people. The consortium will conduct an un-depth study on the nocturnal experiences of university students in four medium-sized university cities: 1) Montpellier 2) Reims, 3) Lyon, 4) Grenoble .