Elsevier

Building and Environment

Volume 154, May 2019, Pages 32-43
Building and Environment

Impact of urban street lighting on road users’ perception of public space and mobility behavior

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.03.009Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Analysis of the effects of different urban street lighting scenarios on road users.

  • Identification of shortcomings of lighting by performing surveys (N = 598).

  • Pedestrian observation to identify effects on walking behavior (N = 1341).

  • Novel LED luminaires to overcome shortcomings of state-of-the-art street light installations.

  • Positive effects of optimized LED luminaires on perception of public space and mobility behavior.

Abstract

Refitting public spaces with light-emitting diode (LED) technology in lieu of conventional luminaires bears the risk of compromising lighting quality that road users have already adapted to; this is because the LED technology has been well tested indoors, but it has not been necessarily evaluated outdoors. Further insight into the effects of street lighting on road users is necessary to resolve potential deficiencies of available technologies. This study compares the effects of three different lighting scenarios (conventional lighting, state-of-the-art LED, optimized LED) on road users via surveys (N = 598 persons) and observations (N = 1341 persons) in the city of Vienna. In terms of the uniformity of street illumination and the comfort it provides, the results show the positive effects of LED street lighting both on surveyed pedestrians and vehicle drivers. The observations of pedestrian walking behavior revealed an unexpected result—no significant differences were noted apart from a more centric walking path along the sidewalk under LED illumination, particularly with the optimized LED luminaire.

Section snippets

Introduction and literature review

One underrated aspect of daily life that potentially influences comfort in an urban environment is street lighting in public spaces [1,2]. Lighting is an indispensable component of road equipment, sidewalks, and pathways in inhabited areas. Several studies show the positive effect of public lighting installations on road safety, crime prevention, and well-being because high visibility and face recognition are imperative for the interaction of road users [3,4].

The currently used street lighting

Street lighting test site

In this section, the selection and characteristics of the street lighting test site as well as the construction of the pilot installations are explained.

Method

In this section, the design and distribution of the in-house developed questionnaire, and the structure and course of the observation are specified. Furthermore, details on the selected timeframe and survey conditions, participants, and limitations of the study are presented.

Results

In this section, the evaluation process and method including the results of the different survey types and user groups are presented.

Conclusions

In the street lighting test site, Blumauergasse in the 2nd district of Vienna, three lighting scenarios were evaluated: first, the existing fluorescent tube luminaires (FTL), followed by lighting with state-of-the-art LED luminaires (LED1), and finally, street lighting with optimized LED luminaires (LED2). In this context, “optimized” (LED2) means that the negatively perceived characteristics of the state-of-the-art LED luminaire (LED1) that were identified in the second lighting scenario were

Author contributions

Conceptualization, K.M. and G.L.; Methodology, K.M., G.R. and G.L.; Software, G.R.; Validation, K.M., G.R. and G.L.; Formal Analysis, G.R.; Investigation, K.M. and G.L.; Data Curation, G.R.; Writing–Original Draft Preparation, K.M.; Writing–Review and Editing: K.M., G.R. and G.L.; Visualization, K.M. and G.R.; Supervision, K.M. and G.L.; Project Administration, G.L.; Funding Acquisition, G.L.

Acknowledgements

This work has been partially funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation, and Technology (BMVIT) in the “Mobilitaet der Zukunft” program under grant number 848993 (“Urban Light”). The authors would like to thank the project's leading partner, Bartenbach GmbH, and project supporter, MA33, for their valuable works, feedbacks, and inputs. The time and effort expended by the survey participants are also appreciated.

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