Urban lighting

Urban lighting design is usually the responsibility of people who know urban planning. It is very important that urban lighting can attract attention and attraction by using various colored lights and the right composition. By using lighting, you can provide a beautiful space for citizens. Urban designers are engaged in urban lighting in an engineering and professional manner, using a variety of lights and cheerful colors. Designers should know different lighting techniques and have a good mastery in the field of using light characteristics and relating them to the environment.

There is an important point in this science that the final design can be adapted to the lifestyle of different people to experience a pleasant sense of citizenship. Children, adolescents, women and physically disabled are groups that are more at risk than other people in the city. Therefore, it is necessary to provide conditions in the city so that these groups can travel more safely in the city during 24 hours. So, for good city lighting, it is not enough that the systems comply with the technical requirements imposed by the regulations or with the economic and energy needs of the customer, or make the urban environments spectacular. Rather, it is important to fully understand the relationship between spaces and behavior in order to improve the nighttime usability and livability of illuminated urban spaces.

What is the purpose of urban lighting?

The first goal that is considered for urban lighting is the feeling of security and peace in the city. Dark nights require enough light in the city. For this reason, lighting is considered essential for security. Maybe years ago, there was no movement inside the city when the night got dark, but nowadays, there are many people in the streets at different hours of the day and night. Because the city is full of traffic, it is necessary to consider enough light for the city. Therefore, lighting can increase citizens' sense of trust towards the city and the people living in it.

One of the important points of urban lighting is that it provides the safety of commuting space to some extent. There is different lighting in the open space and park on the sidewalks and streets and it reduces the possibility of street crimes. For this reason, lighting is very important, even on side lines. Also, light in alleys and streets can help CCTV cameras to record events more accurately, especially at night.

Lights play a key role on major streets, highways, roads and city roads, guiding drivers along the road. The slopes of the road, turns and all the intricacies of the road are shown to the car passengers with long lighting threads on both sides.

On special occasions such as New Year or religious festivals, there are always colorful light threads that remind you with a different style that today is a special day, so urban lighting has a great impact on the visual beauty of the city. Urban lighting introduces aesthetics to the viewer through street and sidewalk lighting. Proper lighting can be considered one of the factors that strengthen the identity of a place and enhance its special character. With proper lighting, you can increase the attractiveness and vitality of the city or the tranquility of its spaces and strengthen the presence of people in the space.

Where urban space design aims to provide areas for meeting and passing time, lighting can help by enhancing the visual experience at night, thus encouraging people to stay and interact with each other, as well as promoting socialization within.

Among the spaces that we have to include for urban lighting design; as follows :

• the streets
• Footpaths
• Bike lanes
• Shop spaces
• Building facades
• Public monuments and sacred tombs
• parks

There are some places that need the right lighting to be designed for them. For example, mosques, hospital environments, shopping centers, coffee shops, and hotels should be designed in such a way that they both have a good effect and prevent additional and heavy costs. Urban lighting should be done in such spaces using low consumption lamps and equipment that do not incur high costs.

It also seems that urban lighting is a category that can have a good effect in creating added value and attractiveness in tourist attractions.