The Failure of Street Lights Ethics GRAP 2310
(Justus Menke,2020)
(Amber Kipp, 2018) The light is scanning the road for us, taking precautions to ensure our safety. . Street lighting, which (rightfully so) see the greater good in providing areas with a safety blanket from the darkness, epitomises the rhetoric of a false sense of security. But, beyond utilitarian ontology, what's to say that this false sense of security is not also a genuine issue that would have us walking in the middle of the road? When the light was brighter than this, people did not get any better at detecting hazards.
The street lights, once a safety blanket, have become a blindfold that masks cognitive dissonance, leading us to assume the worst of unprotected streets while also masking potential dangers in well lit-areas. Our deontological mind may hold onto past values that conflict with our desire for individual freedom and challenge societal ethics that prioritise risk management. [1] [2] Society's constant fear of the unknown can lead to a sense of darkness. Even if we know an area and its people to be safe, part-night street lighting schemes[3] can make us doubt our own judgement and experience internal conflict between our individual moral values and societal ethics. Society's constant prioritisation of risk management can create scenarios where individualism is acknowledge only when the responsibility for risk communication falls on the organisation[4]. Walking towards oncoming traffic projects negligence onto the pedestrian, even if that is the side of the street has street lights. Does the street light give the pedestrian the right of way? legally no[5], However, our cognitive dissonance may make us feel protected under the lights, leading us to resist taking personal caution and relying on external precautions instead[6]. This unintended side effect can discourage personal responsibility and endorse potentially ineffective precautions. The sense of safety provided by the street lights can be so strong that it exceeds their objective security, causing us to become less concerned than we may need to be. We need to recognise that this false sense of security prevent us from seeing the potential dangers around us. The street lighting scheme may well, establish itself as more of a preventative measure than a precaution. Yet it is also true that overselling safety and leading us further into the darkness with less actual protection. On the other hand, when risk communication makes us objectively too safe, we may overestimate how dangerous the night can be. In the age of contemporary security[7], we do not need this false sensation of insecurity to feel protected. instead balance between objective and felt safety.
[1] Uttley, J. (n.d.). Vanishing act: why pedestrians and cyclists disappear when it starts getting dark. [2] Steinbach, R., Perkins, C., Tompson, L., Johnson, S., Armstrong, B., Green, J., Grundy, C., Wilkinson, P., & Edwards, P. (2015). The effect of reduced street lighting on road casualties and crime in England and Wales: controlled interrupted time series analysis. [3] SH (Editor. (2011, July 23). Street light switch-off violates human rights says Councillor - Bradley Stoke Journal. [4] Salemink, O., Bregnbæk, S., & Dan Vesalainen Hirslund. (2020). Utopian Movements, Enactments and Subjectivities among Youth in the Global South. [5] Terry, T. T., Gibbons, R., Kassing, A., Bhagavathula, R., Lowdermilk, C., & Lutkevich, P. (2020). FHWA Safety Program. [6] M. Sandman, P. (2009, February 11). Climate Change Risk Communication: The Problem of Psychological Denial (Peter Sandman column). [7] Terrich, T. T., & Balsky, M. (2022). The Effect of Spill Light on Street Lighting Energy Efficiency and Light Pollution. Department of Electrical Power Engineering, Czech Technical University
It is common to link “false sense of security” to a verb like “give.”[8]
Exactly how much illumination is needed will depend on [given] factors such as pedestrian activity, usage by cyclists, and the risk of crime. Energy-efficient technology advancements have more recently emphasised factors such as energy efficiency, cost, and lifetime maintenance[9][10] that cater to urbanitity, However, crucial these factors are in the design process, they should only be considered after the user's needs The fact is that many lighting engineers fail to prioritize the very reason why we have public lighting in the first place - humans.[10] However, controlling the darkness for human uses it is goal of to have nightscapes boosts community pride. The concept of smart cities as technologically-mediated spaces embodying public values raises questions about who is actually included? The reality of hiding social mediation comes down to the potential of (or lack thereof) public spaces promoting social interaction. Understanding that "The vitality of the metropolitan city is fake; and it does not offer real socialisation opportunities to people"[11] it is seeing mobility of amenities is growing urban density, not community.
"The best opportunities are those which not only help us overcome those obstacles standing in our way, but that they open up new possibilities for us to explore." - Tanveer Naseer
The uniformity conceals inequities [12][13] with collective good. Take temporarily pausing their false-sense-of-security mantra about street lights to highlight what organisational vice keeps opportunity- tied to theft and not hope. How do we, as a society, value opportunity in relation to opportunistic theft rather than providing hope to those living in poverty under dimly lit street lamps?[14] The mobility of youth is central to both issues, but it is crucial to recognise that the human dignity of those living in impoverished areas is often disregarded in the way we illuminate our streets. Since when did a private vice become a public virtue[15]. If we take a utilitarian view of informality from the perspective of a formal system, open spaces and unprotected streets are often seen as deterrents[16]. Conversely, objectively safer streets may oversell safety, with the belief that a false sense of security can lead to increased urban density and ultimately save more people than it endangers. However, when viewed through a deontological lens
What we are experiencing highlights the realities about segregation and why it happens [17]
[8] M. Sandman, P. (2018, May 18). False Sense of Security (Peter Sandman article). [9] Leadsun. (2022, June 6). Lighting Standards In Australia To Consider When Street Planning. [10] Noelle. (2020, March 20). When Road Illumination Began: When Were Street Lights Invented? [11] Zielinska-Dabkowska, K. M., & Bobkowska, K. (2022). Rethinking Sustainable Cities at Night: Paradigm Shifts in Urban Design and City Lighting. Sustainability, 14(10), [12] Stone, T. (2022). The streetlights are watching you: A historical perspective on value change and public lighting. Prometheus, 38(1), 45–56. [13] Brandon Industries. (2021, August 26). Learn About the Innovative History of Street Lamps. [14] Blue Carbon. (2011, March 11). No Poverty Under The Street Lamp, Only Hope Of Wealth [15] Culham, J. (2019, July 25). Private virtue, public vice.
Many people are concerned about light pollution, but there is little evidence to suggest that it is solution to risk communication[18]. It may help the public feel safe, but are we objectively safer? The reason is that light is just lighting, is that it cannot provide safety on its own. We feel safe in the presence of others, urbanity is a sign that there are others watching us. Lighting can certainly enhance visibility and reduce the likelihood of accidents[19][20], but does it guarantee we feel safer under the light? No, but the added reassurance that others are there helps. So backing the saying, “There’s safety in numbers.” is sometimes true, depending on whether we are counting people or light poles? Embodied presence in the light is beneficial from an informal perspective, it is representation but in a formal system. Throughout the country, dimming the streets devalues the community by increasing crime and lowering community pride, whereas improving our streets increases our value (but only where it is necessary for the greater good). Our deontological value of self is lost to utilitarian causes. Societal values embodied in how we design and implement street lighting systems can be a source of failure[12]. Similarly, we now avoid light spillage in front of houses that we once valued. How our utilitarian views have changed, seeing the greater good in devaluing houses rather than seeing value in community[21].
Arguably does have more value for human, in the past. [22]
While some suggest leaving "value tensions" behind and seeking speculative futures abandoning street lights; it is important to explore alternative solutions to urban lighting that are sustainable, equitable, and socially just It might just take rethinking sustainable cities to see that light spilt is also light borrowed acknowledging that (sub)urban spaces are lit by borrowed illumination is a reality that is blindsided by the sustainability of lights.[23]. As municipalities around the globe quickly convert their current functional and decorative external lighting to LED in an attempt to conserve energy and save money, other key factors are overlooked.[25] Since the early 21st century, both pedestrian, cyclist cities and car cities prioritise a single light source, unlike sustainable city strategies of the past decade[refer to fig3]. The false sense of security is not just in relying on a single precaution, but in the miscommunication and lack of trust in other safety measures. Danger was predicted by the pleasantness of the lighting, gender, brightness, and environmental trust.[26] We do not find shade specifically in trees; we find the nearest shadow and hope it extends. In the same way that we expect borrowed light from storefronts or domestic interiors to fill the gaps left by street lights. While a smart city with all-inone street lighting may provide objective safety, it fails to provide the support network and environmental trust that people need to feel reassured and truly safe.
Fig.3 Zielinska-Dabkowska, K. M., & Bobkowska, K. (2022). [18] Bannister, L. (2021, June 30). The Urgency of Controlling Light Pollution by Landon Bannister [19] Uttley, J. (n.d.). Vanishing act: why pedestrians and cyclists disappear when it starts getting dark. [20] Noelle. (2020, March 20). When Road Illumination Began: When Were Street Lights Invented? [21] Rigolon, A., & Németh, J. (2018). What Shapes Uneven Access to Urban Amenities? Thick Injustice and the Legacy of Racial Discrimination in Denver’s Parks. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 41(3) [22] Safiniara. (n.d.). Darkness: V for Vendetta and Social Construct Essay
[23] Global Street Design Guide. (n.d.). Lighting Design Guidance. Global Designing Cities Initiative; Island Press. [24]Global Street Design Guide. (n.d.). Lighting Design Guidance. Global Designing Cities Initiative; Island Press. [26] Terrich, T. T., & Balsky, M. (2022). The Effect of Spill Light on Street Lighting Energy Efficiency and Light Pollution. [
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