Urban Lighting Research Transdisciplinary Framework—A Collaborative Process with Lighting Professionals

Bibliographic Data

ID15499521
AuthorsCatherine Pérez Vega (0000-0002-2220-7606, Wismar University of Applied Sciences), Karolina M Zielińska-Dąbkowska (0000-0003-1414-6978, Wismar University of Applied Sciences, corresponding author), Franz Hölker (0000-0001-5932-266X, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries)
Year2021
Volume18
Issue2
Pages624-624
Publication date2021-01-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph18020624
PMID33450951
OpenAlexW3120429473
LanguageEN
References cited72

Over the past decades, lighting professionals have influenced the experience of the night by brightly illuminating streets, buildings, skylines, and landscapes 24/7. When this became the accepted norm, a dual perspective on night-time was shaped and the visual enjoyment of visitors after dusk was prioritized over natural nightscapes (nocturnal landscapes). During this time, researchers of artificial light at night (ALAN) observed and reported a gradual increase in unnatural brightness and a shift in color of the night-time environment. As a consequence, ALAN has been identified as a relevant pollutant of aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and an environmental stressor, which may adversely affect a wide range of organisms, from micro-organisms to humans. Unfortunately, lighting professionals and ALAN researchers usually attempt to solve today's sustainable urban lighting problems distinctive to their fields of study, without a dialogue between research and practice. Therefore, in order to translate research knowledge as an applicable solution for the lighting practice and to minimize the impact on the environment, a collaborative framework involving a transdisciplinary process with lighting professionals is crucial to potentially bring the practice, research, production, decision-making, and planning closer to each other. This paper presents a framework to help reduce the existing gap of knowledge, because appropriate lighting applications depend upon it. Access to less light polluted nightscapes in urban environments is just as important as access to unpolluted water, food, and air. This call for action towards sustainable urban lighting should be included in future lighting policies to solve the urgent environmental and health challenges facing our world

Architectural engineering · Business · Environmental planning · Geography · Process (computing · Process management · Computer Science · Engineering · Impact of Light on Environment and Health · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Urban Green Space and Health

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