Urban Lighting, Light Pollution and Society

After decades "in the shadows", urban lighting is re-emerging as a matter of public debate. Long-standing truths are increasingly questioned as a confluence of developments affects lighting itself and the way it is viewed. Light has become an integral element of place-making and energy-saving initiatives alike. Rapidly evolving lighting technologies are opening up new possibilities, but also posing new challenges to planners, and awareness is growing that artificial illumination is not purely benign but can actually constitute a form of pollution. As a result, public policy frameworks, incentives and initiatives are undergoing a phase of innovation and change that will affect how cities are lit for years to come.

The first comprehensive compilation of current scientific discussions on urban lighting and light pollution from a social science and humanities perspective, Urban Lighting, Light Pollution and Society contributes to an evolving international debate on an increasingly controversial topic. The contributions draw a rich panorama of the manifold discourses connected with artificial illumination in the past and present – from early attempts to promote new lighting technologies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to current debates on restricting its excessive usage in public space and the protection of darkness. By bringing together a cross-section of current findings and debates on urban lighting and light pollution from a wide variety of disciplines, it reflects that artificial lighting is multifaceted in its qualities, utilisation and interpretation.

Including case studies from the United States, Europe, and the UK, Urban Lighting, Light Pollution and Society is one of the first to take a serious assessment of light, pollution, and places and is a valuable resource for planners, policy makers and students in related subjects.

This volume combines key findings of the research collaboration "Loss of the Night", funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research from 2010 to 2013, with cutting-edge research of leading international experts in the field. The editors were part of the social science and historical sub-projects within the "Loss of the Night" network conducted at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the Technical University Berlin and the Leibniz-Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning in Erkner.

Josiane Meier is a researcher and lecturer at the Technical University of Berlin, Department for Urban and Regional Planning. She is currently investigating how the revaluation of darkness and the increasing awareness of light pollution are influencing planning practices and paradigms.

Ute Hasenöhrl, historian at the the Leibniz-Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning, is author of the book Zivilgesellschaft und Protest. Eine Geschichte der Naturschutz- und Umweltbewegung in Bayern 1945-1980 (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2011). She is currently working on a knowledge and resource history of lighting in the British Empire.

Katharina Krause is a research associate at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning. She is currently investigating urban light conflicts and respective policy arrangements. Her broader research interests are sustainable urban planning and socio-technical systems.

Merle Pottharst is a researcher at the Technical University of Berlin, Department for Urban and Regional Planning, where she analysed the negative and positive effects of artificial outdoor lighting. Her research interests are in environmental and regional planning, sustainability and nature conservation.