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Evidence about the relationship between lighting and crime is mixed. Although a review of evidence found that improved road / street lighting was associated with reductions in crime, these reductions occurred in daylight as well as after dark, suggesting any effect was not due only to changes in visual conditions. One limitation of previous studies is that crime data are reported in aggregate and thus previous analyses were required to make simplifications concerning types of crimes or locations. We will overcome that by working with a UK police force to access records of individual crimes. We will use these data to determine whether the risk of crime at a specific time of day is greater after dark than during daylight. If no difference is found, this would suggest improvements to visual conditions after dark through lighting would have no effect. If however the risk of crime occurring after dark was greater than during daylight, quantifying this effect would provide a measure to assess the potential effectiveness of lighting in reducing crime risk after dark. We will use a case and control approach to analyse ten years of crime data. We will compare counts of crimes in 'case' hours, that are in daylight and darkness at different times of the year, and 'control' hours, that are in daylight throughout the year. From these counts we will calculate odds ratios as a measure of the effect of darkness on risk of crime, using these to answer three questions: 1) Is the risk of overall crime occurring greater after dark than during daylight? 2) Does the risk of crime occurring after dark vary depending on the category of crime? 3) Does the risk of crime occurring after dark vary depending on the geographical area? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: This article reports on an updated systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effects of street lighting interventions on crime in public places. Following Campbell Collaboration guidelines, it uses robust criteria for inclusion of studies, comprehensive search strategies to identify eligible studies, a detailed protocol for coding key study characteristics, and rigorous methods for analyzing studies. A total of 21 studies met the inclusion criteria, originating in four countries (United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Korea) and covering almost 50 years (1974–2021). The review finds that street lighting interventions are associated with a significant desirable effect on total crime (14% reduction in treatment areas compared with comparable control areas); desirable effects are greater in studies that measured both night and day crimes than in studies that only measured night crimes; and street lighting is followed by a significant reduction in property crimes, but not in violent crimes. Policy Implications: Compared to past years, it would seem that an even stronger case can be made today for street lighting interventions to be part of crime‐prevention policy. A larger body of high‐quality evaluation research, implemented in a range of high‐crime public places, some evidence of value for money, and a continued desirable impact on crime, especially property crime, all point to the policy relevance of street lighting interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study assessed the comparative effectiveness of two forms of surveillance in preventing crime in public space: formal surveillance, in the form of closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras, and natural surveillance, in the form of improved street lighting. Based on the highest quality available research evidence on these two measures -- from systematic reviews incorporating meta-analytic techniques -- it was found that they are equally effective in reducing crime. More detailed analyses showed that improved street lighting was more effective in reducing crime in city centers, that both were more effective in reducing property crimes than violent crimes, and that both measures were far more affective in reducing crime in Britain than in America. Policy implications: The result of this study lend support for the continued use of CCTV and improved street lighting to reduce crime, but they suggest that they need to be targeted more narrowly on property crimes. A policy that combines the two interventions may produce a greater yield in reduced crime rates, but this may be limited to vehicle crimes in car parks. Improved street lighting is an effective form of surveillance to reduce crime in public space, and it may attract less public resistance than CCTV surveillance cameras (in America at least). Lessons from the British studies to help improve the effectiveness of the two measures in America are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the positive effect that improved street lighting has on crime and the fear of crime in Great Britain. Case study conducted in an area of Glasgow's Castlemilk housing scheme; Background on similar studies; Details of the study; Results and recommendation.

• Street furniture in cast iron for improving the quality of life in urban settlements. • Diffusion of street furniture in relation to the First Industrial Revolution. • Artistic, aesthetic and ethical issues, and historical catalogues. • Local aspects of street furniture in United Kingdom, France and Italy. • Production technique and preservation of street furniture. The term "street furniture" indicates objects mostly made of cast iron alloys and aimed to improve the quality of life in urban settlements, such as street lamps, fountains and gazebos. These objects are often ancient and relevant as cultural heritage. Despite the constant presence of street furniture in urban settlements, studies of its evolution along centuries are limited. Since functional aspects have been often considered prevalent against artistic and historical values, many objects have been considered obsolete, thus replaced or re-melted. Street furniture rarely received attention by scholars, and studies on this topic have been often incomplete. This study reviews the history of street furniture made of cast iron (CI street furniture), first examining the reasons behind the choice of this material, closely related to its diffusion during the First Industrial Revolution. The review discusses the relationship between CI street furniture and cultural heritage based on artistic, aesthetic and ethical issues, also examining historical catalogs. The development of CI street furniture in United Kingdom, France and Italy is reported, together with their local aspects. The production technique is discussed and the importance of preservation of CI street furniture is highlighted, emphasizing the need for globally planned interventions in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial light at night is considered a major threat to biodiversity, especially for nocturnal species, as it reduces habitat availability, quality, and functionality. Since the recent evolution in light technologies in improving luminous efficacy, developed countries are experiencing a renewal of their lighting equipment that reaches its end-of-life, from conventional lighting technologies to light emitting diodes (LEDs). Despite potential cascading impacts of such a shift on nocturnal fauna, few studies have so far dealt with the impact of the renewal of street lighting by new technologies. Specifically, only one study, by Rowse et al.2016, examined the effects of switching from widely used low pressure sodium (LPS) lamps to LEDs, using bats as biological models. This study was based on a before-after-control-impact paired design (BACIP) at 12 pairs in the UK, each including one control and one experimental streetlight. If Rowse et al. 2016 showed no effect of switching to LEDs streetlights on bat activity, the effects of respective changes in light intensity and spectrum were not disentangled when testing switch effects. Here, we conduct a retrospective analysis of their data to include these covariates in statistical models with the aim of disentangling the relative effects of these light characteristics. Our re-analysis clearly indicates that the switches in spectrum and in intensity with replacement of LPS with LED lamps have significant additive and interactive effects, on bat activity. We also show that bat activity and buzz ratio decrease with increasing LED intensity while an opposite effect is observed with LPS lamps. Hence, the loss or the gain in bat activity when lamp types, i.e., spectrum, are switched strongly depends on the initial and new lamp intensities. Our results stress the need to consider simultaneously the effects of changes in the different lights characteristics when street lighting changes. Because switches from LPS to LED lamps can lead to an increase in light intensity, such technological changes may involve a reduction of bat activity in numerous cases, especially at high LED intensities. Since we are currently at an important crossroad in lighting management, we recommend to limit LED intensity and improve its spectral composition toward warmer colors to limit potential deleterious impacts on bat activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces the article "Surveillance for Crime Prevention in Public Space: Results and Policy Choices in Britain and America," by Brandon C. Welsh and David P. Farrington which focused on crime prevention strategies in Great Britain and the U.S. Role of closed-circuit television (CCTV) and street lighting in preventing crime; Efficacy of the two preventive measures in different environments; Criticisms on the subjectivity of street lighting; Issues on the effectiveness of preventive measures in crime incidence.

The starry sky is, unofficially but indubitably, a site of special scientific interest and an area of outstanding natural beauty, if it can be seen. The British Astronomical Association Campaign for Dark Skies (CIDS) was set up by concerned members in 1989, to counter the ever-growing tide of skyglow which has tainted the night sky over Great Britain since the 1950s. Once caused almost exclusively by poorly aimed streetlamps and building floodlights emitting light above the horizontal, skyglow is nowadays increasingly the result of vastly over-powered, poorly mounted household security lights and literally 'over-the-top' sports lighting. CIDS has grown into a network of 124 volunteer local officers, and several hundred committed supporters, who aim to persuade their local councils and relevant organisations of the benefits of well directed lighting, the motto being, the right amount of light, and only where needed.

The article focuses on the development of street-lamp design to reduce light pollution in Great Britain. The research shows that in the nearby towns, skyglow is overshadowed by reflections from surrounding surface to the roads like grass in suburban areas. Meanwhile, the study also shows the advantages of white light sources in reflecting vegetation as scatter in the atmosphere.