During the autumn 2022, students from the Department of sociology at UBO participated in a sociological study regarding the social acceptability of decreased artificial lighting in some districts of Brest métropole, supervised by a team of teacher-researchers from LABERS. In order to capture the nocturnal habits and perceptions of the inhabitants of the city, a hybrid methodology has been established:

• Students in their first year of bachelor's degree in sociology have created a survey notebook that the participants were invited to fill in every day: what are
  their nocturnal trips, their activities, their sociability in Brest at night? To complete the work, semi-structured interviews were conducted.
• At the same time, students in their second year of bachelor's degree in sociology designed and administered a survey on the perception of the extinction of public lighting at night in several suburban and residential districts of Brest.

In the fall of 2024, the Noz Breizh chair organized a Parcours RESPI group internship for first-year Master’s students in psychology at UBO. Led by Christèlle FraÏssé, a lecturer in psychology (LP3C, UBO), the working group’s mission is to explore festive practices in Brest, and more specifically to characterize the governance of festive nightlife.

To this end, the students examine the control, monitoring, and mediation mechanisms adopted by the city, as well as the initiatives implemented by key players of this nightlife scene, including bars, restaurants, and venues owners. A research report will be submitted to Brest métropole, followed by a document providing a summary of the study’s findings for a wider audience.

Planning to review and improve their nighttime transportation services, RD Brest, a subsidiary of RATP DEV, also enlisted the help of Master’s students in AUDE program at Institut de Géoarchitecture—supervised by Liudmila Morillon, Assistant Professor, and Edna Hernández González, Associate Professor—to conduct a study on Noctybus. As part of a strategic review to adapt nighttime transportation services to the changing needs and territorial dynamics of the metropolitan area, this project was organized into three phases:

• developing a comprehensive territorial analysis of Brest’s nighttime networks,
• creating several scenarios for the proposed night transportation service, 
• and refining the most relevant scenario while taking budgetary and technical constraints into account.

Finally, a group of 4-6 Master’s students was also asked to conduct a quantitative study focusing on the evolving behaviors in psychoactive substance use related to partying and adjustments needed in public policies in response to various contexts:

• the disappearance of large gatherings and associated prevention initiatives (student health insurance groups, government services, Addictions France, etc.);
• the persisting use of substances in fringe public spaces, before or after visiting bars, nightclubs, concert venues, etc.;
• the relative proportion of alcohol consumption in public spaces compared to that in bars and nightclubs;
• the rise of private parties and/or young people’s reduced interest in “partying”;
• the motivations underlying the decline in binge drinking and the rise of other substances known as “new drugs”.

Assessments

• Assessment of the Right to the city study group (2022-2023)(2022-2023)
• Report of the closing symposium Noz Num, walking in the city at night

Conference papers

• charrier g., Comment s’approprier la ville la nuit quand on est sous contrôle social ? Expériences et représentations d’usager·es de Brest métropole. Colloque International Noz Breizh, Mai 2025, Brest, France. halshs-05546336
• Prigent P.-G., Étudier les représentations et la perception de l'éclairage public à Brest : une enquête par questionnaire, Colloque International Noz Breizh, Mai 2025, Brest, France.
• charrier g., Atravesar la ciudad de noche: representaciones y prácticas de género. Nov 2024, Mar Del Plata, Argentina. halshs-05546307
• Prigent P.-G., Les rapports sociaux d’âge et de sexe dans une étude par questionnaire sur la perception de l’extinction de l’éclairage public à Brest, Colloque International Smart Noz, Mars 2024, Brest, France.