Light, Safety and Atmosphere: The Impact of Lowered and Layered Lighting in Urban Parks

Olsson, August

4. Term

Lighting Design

2025

2025-06-01

78 pages

During the dark hours, artificial lighting in urban environments has functional purposes, such as defining spaces, helping us see and move securely, allowing us to perform our daily activities at night, as well as emotional purposes such as increasing comfort, creating welcoming spaces and enhancing the perception of safety. On the other hand, poor lighting can cause glare, distort the perception of spaces, create discomfort and reduce feelings of safety. This thesis explored how lighting design can contribute to create safe and inviting urban spaces in low lighting levels. The initial research question guiding the beginning of the study was: What parameters are essential in lighting design, to create safe and inviting outdoor urban spaces in low lighting levels?As the study progressed, two key lighting strategies were identified: lowered lighting levels and layered lighting. Based on this, the final research question was: How do lowered lighting and layered lighting impact the perception of safety and an inviting atmosphere in outdoor urban spaces? A field experiment was carried out in Raoul Wallenbergs Park in Malmö, including three different lighting scenario, vox pop interviews, illuminance measurements and luminance measurements. The results suggest that lowering the general lighting levels by 75% (from 49 lux to 12 lux on ground level beneath the luminaire) can be done without reducing legibility or the perceived safety. However, the expected reduction in strong contrasts was not clearly noticeable on site. The effect of layered lighting was limited, though the additional lighting was appreciated. Based on literature, professional interviews, and case studies, a more refined implementation of this strategy may better support an inviting atmosphere.

Safety ; Atmosphere ; Lighting Levels ; Urban Space

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