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The recent introduction of digital tools in public lighting represents a milestone in the evolution of street lighting. Simultaneously to this innovation phase, urban lighting is currently being studied in terms of energy and environmental sobriety, to reduce its financial and ecological impact. This study presents the observations and evaluations carried out by nocturnal urban dwellers of an experimental public lighting system, set up in real conditions. The evaluations question the relevance of sensors integrated to the lighting material in real time via a series of survey managed autonomously by residents of the experimental environment.

This article presents a case study conducted in the metropolis of Brest, France in 2022, designed to support public policy decision-making by integrating the knowledge and needs of citizens during the different stages of a night-time urban planning project, around the notion of synchronization of the city’s rhythms. It presents three innovations: (1) Actors: coordination of public and private actors, common vocabulary, cartographic representations of assets, introduction of participatory approaches, activation of citizen knowledge in political expertise. (2) Sociology: participative modalities, objectification of citizens’ knowledge, definition of their decision-making perimeter, (3) Public lighting policies: territorial and social strategy of light sobriety, regularization and empowerment of the network of actors. The conclusion of this article will focus on the limits, added values and development axes of nocturnal urban sociology as a support for decision-making in public lighting management and renovation strategies, and will open up the mobilization of the rhythms and temporalities to be mobilized in order to restore balanced nocturnal ambiences between lighting, which is essential, and darkness, which is vital.

Associated with the definition of the lighting development coherence scheme of the metropolis of Nantes, France, this chapter contributes to identifying the stakes of better energy and light sobriety in the management of its public lighting park. The research focuses on how to raise awareness and involve the users of public spaces in the evaluation and production of nocturnal ambiances. It includes an experimentation of field survey dedicated to the evaluation and iteration of a method for the collection of sensitive indicators. Beyond its analytical part, this chapter proposes an unprecedented digital mapping tool to in real time collect physical and sensitive indicators. The research addresses the concept of expertise of use, complementary of political and technical ones that currently govern public lighting. The results confirmed that the pedagogy of light sobriety, regarding the challenge of energy and light sobriety originally pursued through an approach of awareness to street lighting for users, is ultimately determinant in the renewal of street lighting policies.