Creative Footprint (CFP) is a data-driven research project by nighttime consultancy agency VibeLab, that studies creative spaces and communities to examine the cultural value and impact of music and nightlife in the city.
Our methodology goes beyond economic impact, prioritising original content, interdisciplinary connections, and cross-functional spaces for thriving local scenes.
Since its founding in 2017, CFP has been conducting community-based and collaborative venue mapping in Berlin, New York, Tokyo, Stockholm and Montreal: including music spaces, clubs, galleries, and informal creative spaces.
The goal of CFP is to show the value of spaces that foster talent, strengthen communities and make our cities unique.
Our Founders Have Been Featured In:
Our Team
Lutz Leichsenring (he/him)
Project Lead and Consultant
Lutz is the co-founder of VibeLab and is based in Berlin. Since 2009, Lutz has been the spokesperson and Executive Board Member for the Berlin Clubcommission and a member of the city’s Musicboard and Chamber of Commerce and has fought tirelessly for the rights of the German capital’s vast club scene by organising protests and speaking up in public.
Mirik Milan (he/him)
Project Lead and Consultant
Mirik is a former nightlife promoter and one of the first-night mayors in the world, having played an instrumental role in reshaping Amsterdam’s nightlife scene into one of the most vibrant and economically robust in the world. Mirik’s inaugural position as Amsterdam’s Nachtburgemeester in 2012 has since been replicated in major cities worldwide, from New York, Paris and London. Nowadays, Mirik is a nightlife advocate, co-founder of VibeLab and author of the paper ‘Governing the Night-time City: The Rise of Night Mayors as a New Form of Urban Governance After Dark’. In January 2020, the journal Urban Studies released the first qualitative study on night mayors worldwide.
Diana Raiselis (they/ them)
Senior Researcher and Writer
Diana is the Research Lead for VibeLab, co-editor of the Global Nighttime Recovery Plan, and regularly consults for arts and urban organisations across Europe and North America. Drawing upon experience in nonprofit programme design, civic leadership education, and theatre production focusing on LGBTQ+ stories, Diana has received fellowships from Salzburg Global Seminar, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs, and Steppenwolf Theater Company. They hold an M.Sc. with Distinction in Urban Studies from University College London and a B.A. in Theater and Civic Engagement from Northwestern University.
Amir Alexander Salem (he/him)
Project Manager and Researcher
Amir is a London-born Berlin-based interdisciplinary urban researcher, project manager and writer of Swedish, Egyptian and German heritage. His research spans queer communities and nightlife to nighttime cultural policy and governance. As a Project Manager for VibeLab — he has worked across research projects that translate the value and potential of nightlife to decision-makers globally. Amir holds a BA in Geography from King’s College London and a PGDip with Distinction in Urban Studies from University College London.
Maarten van Brederode (he/him)
Researcher
Maarten is a researcher who believes in the power of grassroots advocacy and engagement to enact real policy change for thriving music, arts and cultural scenes. He was born and raised in Seattle, calling Berlin home since early 2020. Maarten has dual American/Dutch citizenship, has lived in New York and studied in Amsterdam. He received a BA in Geography from the University of Washington and an MSc in Urban Geography from the University of Amsterdam. Maarten has been with VibeLab since November 2022.
Jess Dymond Barber (she/her)
CFP Communications and Content Manager
Jess is a Berlin-based cultural producer and a programmer who manages communications and digital strategy for VibeLab—focusing on events and activations transcending traditional formats within nighttime advocacy, sustainability, awareness, safety, dancing, new media and activism. Jess is growing and connecting the nighttime network IRL and virtually. Jess has a BA in Fashion History and Theory from Central Saint Martins, a music and cultural journalism background, and has long advocated for nightlife and creative communities.
Michael Fichman (he/him)
Lead Data Scientist
Michael Fichman is a city planner, researcher and lecturer at PennPraxis at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design. He is a nightlife organiser, musician, and Philadelphia City Council’s Arts and Culture Task Force member. He is also an editor of the Global Nighttime Recovery Plan.
Miriam Anne Cherayil (she/her)
Data Scientist
Mia is in her last semester at the University of Pennsylvania, pursuing a Master's in City and Regional Planning. Having worked as a software engineer in Boston before graduate school, she is excited to blend her interests in emerging technologies, data-driven methods, and urbanism to make cities more resilient and inclusive.
Itay Porat (he/him)
Data Scientist
Itay is an engineer, designer, city planner and musician based in Houston. He works to help cities thrive and adapt through better planning and design, focusing on ecology, environmental justice and geospatial technologies. He is also active in performing, improvising and composing music and explores how planning and design can engage and empower artists and audiences. Itay holds degrees in engineering from the University of Houston and City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.