Antonella Radicchi

<Cover and above image respectively by Sergei Byxarev and Leyre via unsplash>

Planning Artificial Light at Night for Pedestrian Visual Diversity in Public Spaces

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1488; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021488

This open access article makes the case for addressing pedestrian visual diversity when planning artificial light for public spaces at night, by drawing upon original findings from an exploratory study where twenty-one open-ended interviews were conducted with experts in the fields of artificial lighting, urban planning and health studies. Specifically, this article provides (1) the introduction of the concept of pedestrian visual diversity, defined as the condition, capabilities and needs of visually impaired pedestrians, (2) a systematization of overlooked issues in the planning of artificial light for visual diverse pedestrians in public spaces and (3) the proposition of a participatory framework for the application of lightwalks as an experiential method for involving visual diverse pedestrians in the data collection on and analysis of artificial lighting in public spaces at night. In conclusion, it identifies five strands for further research at the nexus of pedestrian visual diversity, public space and night studies for inclusive light planning.

YEAR

Research study:  2021-2022
Publication: 2023

AUTHORS

• Dr Antonella Radicchi, TU Berlin and Birmignham City University
• Prof Em Dr Dietrich Henckel, TU Berlin

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge the valuable contributions of the interviewees and thank Carmen Rosas-Pérez and Mattia Cobianchi for their feedback on the use of the terms visual diversity and visual diverse in relation to the scholarship on aural diversity.