IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i10p6062-d817206.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rethinking Sustainable Cities at Night: Paradigm Shifts in Urban Design and City Lighting

Author

Listed:
  • Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska

    (GUT LightLab, Faculty of Architecture, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11-12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Bobkowska

    (Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland)

Abstract

Since the establishment of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, various perspectives on sustainable cities have been developed and adopted in order to achieve a better and more sustainable future. However, background research has revealed that these goals and targets are limited because they do not take into account the growing body of lighting-related research in diverse fields on the impact of outdoor illumination on humans, flora and fauna. Recently, exterior lighting has been also linked to environmental degradation and as an indirect contributor to the current climate change emergency. Therefore, this study aims, by using online interviews with over 50 experts who work in the field of artificial light at night (ALAN), to assess whether the SDG objectives adequately reflect the latest knowledge about sustainable cities. The Elsevier 2021 SDG mapping matrix was used to find the correlation between the keywords that define each SDG and the keywords used by a group of international experts. This work suggests there are missing targets in current SDGs, especially SDG 11, connected to sustainable cities and communities. It also offers useful guidance on how to rethink the existing approach of cities that aim for sustainability, by applying eight (8) key aspects of urban lighting for healthier and environmentally responsible outdoor illumination, by means of a correct design process, along with a five-step strategic plan of action. The crucial role of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration with experts has also been outlined, via the inclusion of new actors such as lighting professionals and researchers, who are currently absent in this important discourse.

Suggested Citation

  • Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Katarzyna Bobkowska, 2022. "Rethinking Sustainable Cities at Night: Paradigm Shifts in Urban Design and City Lighting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-34, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:10:p:6062-:d:817206
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/10/6062/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/10/6062/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pedro Tavares & Dmitrii Ingi & Luiz Araújo & Paulo Pinho & Pramod Bhusal, 2021. "Reviewing the Role of Outdoor Lighting in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-28, November.
    2. Katarzyna Bobkowska & Pawel Burdziakowski & Jakub Szulwic & Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska, 2021. "Seven Different Lighting Conditions in Photogrammetric Studies of a 3D Urban Mock-Up," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, November.
    3. Melita Rozman Cafuta, 2021. "Sustainable City Lighting Impact and Evaluation Methodology of Lighting Quality from a User Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    4. Michelangelo Scorpio & Roberta Laffi & Massimiliano Masullo & Giovanni Ciampi & Antonio Rosato & Luigi Maffei & Sergio Sibilio, 2020. "Virtual Reality for Smart Urban Lighting Design: Review, Applications and Opportunities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-26, July.
    5. Karolina M. Zielińska-Dabkowska & Kyra Xavia & Katarzyna Bobkowska, 2020. "Assessment of Citizens’ Actions against Light Pollution with Guidelines for Future Initiatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-32, June.
    6. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Kyra Xavia, 2019. "Global Approaches to Reduce Light Pollution from Media Architecture and Non-Static, Self-Luminous LED Displays for Mixed-Use Urban Developments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-33, June.
    7. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska, 2018. "Make lighting healthier," Nature, Nature, vol. 553(7688), pages 274-276, January.
    8. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Kyra Xavia, 2021. "Looking Up to the Stars. A Call for Action to Save New Zealand’s Dark Skies for Future Generations to Come," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, December.
    9. Lodovica Valetti & Francesca Floris & Anna Pellegrino, 2021. "Renovation of Public Lighting Systems in Cultural Landscapes: Lighting and Energy Performance and Their Impact on Nightscapes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-25, January.
    10. Catherine Pérez Vega & Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Sibylle Schroer & Andreas Jechow & Franz Hölker, 2022. "A Systematic Review for Establishing Relevant Environmental Parameters for Urban Lighting: Translating Research into Practice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-46, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska, 2022. "Healthier and Environmentally Responsible Sustainable Cities and Communities. A New Design Framework and Planning Approach for Urban Illumination," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, November.
    2. Katarzyna Bobkowska & Pawel Burdziakowski & Jakub Szulwic & Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska, 2021. "Seven Different Lighting Conditions in Photogrammetric Studies of a 3D Urban Mock-Up," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, November.
    3. Rafał Krupiński, 2020. "Virtual Reality System and Scientific Visualisation for Smart Designing and Evaluating of Lighting," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Catherine Pérez Vega & Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Franz Hölker, 2021. "Urban Lighting Research Transdisciplinary Framework—A Collaborative Process with Lighting Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Kyra Xavia, 2021. "Looking Up to the Stars. A Call for Action to Save New Zealand’s Dark Skies for Future Generations to Come," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Katarzyna Szlachetko & Katarzyna Bobkowska, 2021. "An Impact Analysis of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) on Bats. A Case Study of the Historic Monument and Natura 2000 Wisłoujście Fortress in Gdansk, Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-48, October.
    7. Rafał Krupiński & Henryk Wachta & Wojciech Maciej Stabryła & Cedric Büchner, 2021. "Selected Issues on Material Properties of Objects in Computer Simulations of Floodlighting," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-24, September.
    8. Rafał Krupiński & Wolfgang Scherzer & Piotr Pracki & Andrzej Wiśniewski & Krzysztof Skarżyński, 2023. "A Smart Floodlighting Design System Based on Raster Images," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-18, May.
    9. Alejandro Martínez-Martín & Adrián Bocho-Roas & Diego Carmona-Fernández & Manuel Calderón-Godoy & Miguel Ángel Jaramillo-Morán & Juan Félix González, 2023. "Influence of Illumination Parameters on Night Sky Observation in Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-23, June.
    10. Joanna Badach & Małgorzata Dymnicka & Andrzej Baranowski, 2020. "Urban Vegetation in Air Quality Management: A Review and Policy Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-28, February.
    11. Kwang-Hoon Kim & Gon Kim, 2021. "Using Simulation-Based Modeling to Evaluate Light Trespass in the Design Stage of Sports Facilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    12. Krzysztof Skarżyński & Anna Rutkowska, 2023. "The Interplay between Parameters of Light Pollution and Energy Efficiency for Outdoor Amenity Lighting," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-14, April.
    13. Karolina M. Zielińska-Dabkowska & Kyra Xavia & Katarzyna Bobkowska, 2020. "Assessment of Citizens’ Actions against Light Pollution with Guidelines for Future Initiatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-32, June.
    14. Massimiliano Masullo & Federico Cioffi & Jian Li & Luigi Maffei & Michelangelo Scorpio & Tina Iachini & Gennaro Ruggiero & Antonio Malferà & Francesco Ruotolo, 2022. "An Investigation of the Influence of the Night Lighting in a Urban Park on Individuals’ Emotions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-13, July.
    15. Nona Schulte-Römer & Josiane Meier & Etta Dannemann & Max Söding, 2019. "Lighting Professionals versus Light Pollution Experts? Investigating Views on an Emerging Environmental Concern," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    16. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Kyra Xavia, 2019. "Global Approaches to Reduce Light Pollution from Media Architecture and Non-Static, Self-Luminous LED Displays for Mixed-Use Urban Developments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-33, June.
    17. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska & Julia Hartmann & Carla Sigillo, 2019. "LED Light Sources and Their Complex Set-Up for Visually and Biologically Effective Illumination for Ornamental Indoor Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-32, May.
    18. Sadeghian, Omid & Mohammadi-Ivatloo, Behnam & Oshnoei, Arman & Aghaei, Jamshid, 2024. "Unveiling the potential of renewable energy and battery utilization in real-world public lighting systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    19. Alejandro Martínez-Martín & Adrián Bocho-Roas & Diego Carmona-Fernández & Manuel Calderón-Godoy & Miguel Ángel Jaramillo-Morán & Juan Félix González, 2023. "Interference of Meteorological Variables on Night Sky Observation in Rural and Urban Zones of South-Western Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    20. Preechaya Navaraj & Vorapat Inkarojrit, 2024. "Beyond Illumination: Stakeholder Perspectives on Urban Lighting Master Planning for Chiang Mai Old City, Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-50, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:10:p:6062-:d:817206. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.