Repozytorium publikacji - Politechnika Gdańska

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english
Repozytorium publikacji
Politechniki Gdańskiej

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Urban city lights. Light pollution as one of the effects of incorrectly designed external illumination. How can a successful lighting masterplan diminish its impact?

In the modern world, artificial lighting brings many tangible benefits such as the ability to extend working hours and so increase production, recreational use of the city after dark, or the possibility to travel regardless of the time of day. However, this flexibility comes at a price and negatively impacts on the environment. One such negative phenomenon is Light Pollution ‐ a term used to describe excessive nighttime artificial lighting, present especially in large urban agglomerations. This effect is most pronounced in developed and densely populated cities in North America, East Asia and Europe [1]. Contamination of this type makes it difficult for astronomers to observe the night sky and has a negative impact on the fauna and flora, which has naturally adapted to life during night time; it can also have adverse effects on human health. The resulting phenomenon is mainly due to the operation of wrongly designed street lighting, advertising, illumination of sports stadiums, construction, security and façade lighting. To this day there is no real effective policy which deals with the problem of light pollution. There are no specific government programs which would prevent its growth, nor are there effective action plans dealing with its limitation. Therefore, this paper aims to introduce guidelines for a high quality, successful lighting masterplan ‐ from the overall context at the macro level to specific chosen issues at the micro level.

Autorzy

  • Karolina M. Zielińska-Dąbkowska