![]() Of greater concern are the devastating impacts over-illumination and light pollution is having upon human health, other species, and the planet’s ecosystems. The International Dark-Sky Association has shown that the waste in both energy and money is huge – in the US alone this adds up to $3.3 billion and an unnecessary release of 21 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Scientists are increasingly referring to this as a global challenge. Meanwhile values of light, clarity, cleanliness and coherence in urban landscapes have been transferred across the global experience of culture more widely, resulting in a worldwide disappearance of the night sky. It can be used to promote civic life and help create urban spaces that are vibrant, accessible and comfortable for the diverse people who share them. Further research has shown that cities need a better understanding of light to help tackle inequality. Yet recent research by engineering firm Arup has shown that some of these concerns might be misplaced. In the context of many city centres today, darkness is unwanted – connected to criminal, immoral and sinister behaviour. From candle to oil lamp, oil lamp to gaslight, gaslight to electric light – his quest for a brighter light never ceases, he spares no pains to eradicate even the minutest shadow. ![]() The progressive Westerner is determined always to better his lot. Instead, he celebrated the delicate and nuanced aspects of everyday life that were rapidly being lost as artificial illumination took over: For example, in his 1933 classic In Praise of Shadows, the Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki pointed out the absurdity of greater and greater quantities of light. Wikimedia Commonsīut this view was not necessarily shared by other cultures.
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