The Rights to The City, Improving inclusivity in urban public places through lighting design for marginalised communities

Lund, Kaja Glenne

4. Term

Lighting Design

2023

2023-05-24

94 pages

Marginalised groups are experiencing unwanted attention in the public realm worldwide, and gendered fear produces avoidance behaviour in many public urban places. Universal design has been implemented to ensure that everyone has access to the urban areas, but still, this access is restricted for many vulnerable groups. This investigation aims to find relevant lighting design principles for making public urban spaces more inclusive for the LGBT population in Oslo. A literature review, case studies of three urban places, focus groups, and an experiment with torches in the field were the chosen methods to gain knowledge. First, two focus groups were established, each comprising five members from the LGBT+ population in Oslo between 30-60 years with different social identities. For the first part, they were interviewed about their risk avoidance behaviour in urban places in Oslo. For the second part, a method from visual ethnography was used where the participants used a video camera to record their own experiences without being influenced by the researcher's presence. The findings suggest that the participants are experiencing both a need to hide in the dark and the ability to see their surroundings and the presence of others. In addition, the experiment showed how they wanted to use warm lighting and beautify the place by enhancing details. The conclusion suggests various lighting design methods to create inclusive public areas, such as beautifying details and legibility with vertically lit surfaces. Other urban places should be investigated similarly. The results can be compared and possibly confirmed by using control groups with other non-marginalized groups.

socially inclusive lighting design, marginalised groups, mobility

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