3) Lighting Standards

The SCCP understands the unique influence that lighting can have in an area. Lighting impacts humans as well as wildlife, the SCCP is committed to ensuring the undesirable impacts are minimal and the desirable impacts are maximized. Street lighting is critical to instill a feeling of safety among pedestrians and drivers at night. Streets and sidewalks should be effectively illuminated to guarantee visibility that is appropriate for the space. Software such as GIS can be used to determine the best placement and type of lighting for a space. Strong lighting standards set by municipalities can create more effective, environmentally friendly, and efficient lighting for public streets and sidewalks.

Appropriate lighting can help ensure safety to drivers, pedestrians, and the environment. The artificial lighting a particular area will require is specific to the space. The lighting implemented in a space can determine how the space is used, and by who. Uniform lighting should not be applied to all streets. It is important to recognize that more light does not always create the most activated version of the space at night. Lighting should instead be based on demand and account for energy usage and environmental factors. Things such as “building cover ratio, floor area ratio, tree cover ratio and ground surface albedo explain 88% of the variability of night-time site illuminance uniformity.” 12 Setting specific criteria for lighting by ordinance can improve the health and sustainability of the space. Understanding how light will act and effect a space is essential. The diagram below, by Pan and Du, demonstrates how artificial light interacts with the existing natural and built environment (Image 16.)

12 Pan, W., & Du, J. (2021). Impacts of urban morphological characteristics on nocturnal outdoor lighting environment in cities: An empirical investigation in Shenzhen. Building and Environment, 192, 107587.

Image 16. “Nocturnal lighting patters within urban canyons: “bottom-up” lighting behaviors (Source: Pan, W., & Du, J. (2021). Impacts of urban morphological characteristics on nocturnal outdoor lighting environment in cities: An empirical investigation in Shenzhen. Building and Environment, 192, 107587.).

“An appropriate administration of the public lighting systems, including baffles and automatic timing devices to give light emitted control reducing luminous flux and turning off (partially or fully) light fittings in the nighttime, can favor a reduction in LP (light pollution) and a remarkable energy saving”13

Excess light pollution in cities is the result of poorly designed lighting infrastructure. Measures can be taken to minimize light pollution in urban regions. This is important to “preserve biological equilibrium in protected natural areas, to safeguard fauna and the avifauna’s migratory routes and to reduce energy waste.”12 Light pollution can be minimized by ordinances requiring lighting plans that include a lighting study for developments. Education to residents about the impacts of light pollution and how it can be minimized on an individual basis is also a good tactic. For example, informing residents about the negative impacts of leaving unnecessary lights on at night.

13 Leccese, F., & Tuoni, G. (2003). On the environmental pollution and energy waste due to urban lighting. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 63.