Urban lighting plays a role in density

Urban density is a hot topic in a lot of green building circles, and for good reason. Smart urban growth leads to lower costs for utility infrastructure, reduced vehicle miles traveled by residents and reduced emissions. Building smart urban centers requires a lot of forethought and planning. A new commentary on our site explores one area in which not enough thought is given. Namely, lighting our urban centers for nighttime use, but doing it efficiently. Denise Fong writes:

But designers of urban environments spend much effort developing the streetscape to accommodate daytime activity while relatively little effort is invested in addressing how the streetscape changes after dark. Quality lighting is a key element to well-planned urban environments and proper lighting design can result in the lowest energy use, the least cost for maintenance, the most flexibility and an increased sense of safety that will keep urban residents walking and biking, even after dark.

Let us know your thoughts and experiences with planning for after-dark uses of smart urban places below.