Darkness takes its place in sustainable urban development
How can we create safe urban environments without pushing aside the darkness that nature depends on? The University of Gothenburg and the City of Gothenburg are now developing new tools and methods to create a better balance between light and darkness in the sustainable cities of the future.
In the Nordic region, where darkness characterizes large parts of the year, lighting is a particularly important issue. Well-designed lighting can create a sense of safety, improve accessibility, and contribute to vibrant urban life. At the same time, artificial light negatively affects ecosystems and biodiversity — and light pollution causes people to lose contact with the night sky and the qualities of darkness.
– The balance between light and darkness in cities is a key sustainability issue that is becoming increasingly important as artificial light continues to grow globally every year. For a long time, we have planned cities primarily for daylight, but a sustainable city needs to function around the clock, says Christina Vildinge, design researcher at HDK-Valand and development manager for research and innovation at the City Environment Administration.
Sustainable living environments
In the project Shedding Light on Living Environments, researchers and urban development administrations are collaborating to develop tools for sustainable living environments. Here, light is not viewed merely as a technical issue, but as part of how we design and shape our shared urban spaces with consideration for both people and nature.
– Urban planning is organizationally complex, especially when it comes to light, which crosses boundaries and involves many competing interests. Collaboration therefore becomes essential. It is also important to have tools that help us imagine the city across seasons and at different times of day, says Elena Raviola, Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Professor of Design Management and director of the Business and Design Lab at HDK-Valand.
The project uses visualizations and collaborative methods to illustrate how different lighting strategies affect urban spaces and the people who inhabit them. The ambition is to make research-based knowledge more accessible and practical, enabling lighting decisions that take greater account of both human needs and biodiversity.
– Lighting is a key design issue. We now have a concrete tool that helps different actors collaborate and develop a shared vision ahead of the continued planning process, says Viveca Risberg, architect at the City Planning Administration.
Shedding Light on Living Environments is a research and communication project focusing on the role of light in sustainable urban development, with particular emphasis on the balance between light and darkness in urban environments. The project communicates and makes accessible research findings from the natural sciences, design research, and organizational studies in order to strengthen collaboration and contribute to the global goals of Agenda 2030.
The project is funded by Formas and the Söderberg Foundation for Design Management and is a collaboration between the University of Gothenburg, the City Planning Administration, and the City Environment Administration of the City of Gothenburg.
