Linking nighttime outdoor lighting attributes to pedestrians’ feeling of safety: An interactive survey approach

Boris A. Portnov; Rami Saad; Tamar Trop; Doron Kliger; Alina Svechkina

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242172

Linking nighttime outdoor lighting attributes to pedestrians’ feeling of safety: An interactive survey approach

Boris A. Portnov, Rami Saad, Tamar Trop, Doron Kliger, Alina Svechkina

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Public space lighting (PSL) contributes to pedestrians’ feeling of safety (FoS) in urban areas after natural dark. However, little is known how different PSL attributes, such as illuminance, light temperature, uniformity and glare, affect people’s FoS in different contextual settings. The present study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by developing a model linking different PSL attributes with FoS, while controlling for individual, locational, environmental and temporal factors. To develop such model, the study employs a novel interactive user-oriented method, based on a specially-designed mobile phone application–CityLights^TM. Using this app, a representative sample of observers reported their impressions of PSL attributes and FoS in three cities in Israel, following a set of predetermined routes and points. As the study shows, higher levels of illumination and uniformity positively affect FoS, while lights perceived as warm tend to generate higher FoS than lights perceived as cold. These findings may guide future illumination polices aimed at promoting energy efficiency while ensuring urban sustainability.

Original language	English
Article number	e0242172
Journal	PLoS ONE
Volume	15
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242172
State	Published - Nov 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (Grant number 400/18). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Portnov et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Keywords

City Planning/standards
Emotions
Humans
Lighting
Mobile Applications
Pedestrians/psychology
Photoperiod
Public Facilities
Safety
Surveys and Questionnaires

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
General
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1371/journal.pone.0242172

Cite this

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title = "Linking nighttime outdoor lighting attributes to pedestrians{\textquoteright} feeling of safety: An interactive survey approach",

abstract = "Public space lighting (PSL) contributes to pedestrians{\textquoteright} feeling of safety (FoS) in urban areas after natural dark. However, little is known how different PSL attributes, such as illuminance, light temperature, uniformity and glare, affect people{\textquoteright}s FoS in different contextual settings. The present study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by developing a model linking different PSL attributes with FoS, while controlling for individual, locational, environmental and temporal factors. To develop such model, the study employs a novel interactive user-oriented method, based on a specially-designed mobile phone application–CityLightsTM. Using this app, a representative sample of observers reported their impressions of PSL attributes and FoS in three cities in Israel, following a set of predetermined routes and points. As the study shows, higher levels of illumination and uniformity positively affect FoS, while lights perceived as warm tend to generate higher FoS than lights perceived as cold. These findings may guide future illumination polices aimed at promoting energy efficiency while ensuring urban sustainability.",

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note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (Grant number 400/18). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Portnov et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.",

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AU - Svechkina, Alina

N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (Grant number 400/18). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Portnov et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Linking nighttime outdoor lighting attributes to pedestrians’ feeling of safety: An interactive survey approach

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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