Assessment of Outdoor Lighting: Methods for Capturing the Pedestrian Experience in the Field

Abstract

This study assessed whether methods for capturing the pedestrian experience of outdoor lighting, previously evaluated in a full-scale laboratory, were applicable in a real-world setting. It applied an approach capturing the human response to outdoor lighting in a systematic way, by assessing perception, evaluation and behaviour in the lit environment. The study involved 81 participants from two age groups (Young—n: 48, mean age: 26, 63% women; Elderly—n: 33, mean age: 69, 67% women) and was carried out on a pedestrian path in a park in the centre of Malmö, Sweden, in the evenings during wintertime. Two LED lighting applications, differing in light distribution, uniformity and horizontal illuminance, were presented, and the pedestrians’ perception (facial expression recognition and sign reading), evaluation (arousal, valence and perceived outdoor lighting quality) and behaviour (pedestrian flow) were assessed. The results from the perceptual tasks differed significantly between the lighting applications, in favour of the lighting application with greatest uniformity and horizontal illuminance. There was a significant difference in sign reading distance between the two age groups. The methods applied in this study are feasible to administer and could be used to assess lighting solutions in order to capture the needs of vulnerable groups.

Research on Night Light Comfort of Pedestrian Space in Urban Park

“…Light can affect human health [ 5 ], which can be both positive and negative [ 6 ]. Inappropriate ALAN can affect human emotions [ 7 , 8 ], perception, evaluation, behavior [ 9 , 10 ], and feeling of safety [ 11 ] and can even have a significant impact on physical health [ 5 , 6 , 12 – 14 ]. If humans are exposed to an uncomfortable light environment for a long time, such as insufficient brightness, uneven lighting, uncomfortable glare, and intense strobe light, it will not only cause serious harm to their physical health but also affect their psychological health [ 12 , 15 , 16 ].…”

Ways to study changes in pedestrians’ behaviour in the artificially lit urban outdoor environment

“…There were both quantitative and qualitative approaches to study pedestrian behaviour which can relate to walking. Firstly, the total number of pedestrians who use the site can be recorded automatically by traffic counters [3,4,5] or by direct observation (e.g., a gait-counting method) [6,7,23,40,42,67] for specific periods of time. Afterwards, count data collected for after dark conditions can be compared with daylight values by using the biannual daylight-saving clock changes approach 1099 (2022) 012007 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1099/1/012007 6 [3,4,6] or the whole-year approach [5].…”

“…Afterwards, count data collected for after dark conditions can be compared with daylight values by using the biannual daylight-saving clock changes approach 1099 (2022) 012007 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1099/1/012007 6 [3,4,6] or the whole-year approach [5]. To compare the usage of various artificially lit spaces or to evaluate changes after the lighting installation improvements, it is possible to implement real-time field observations [7,23,40,67] or to analyse footage from fixed cameras [42]. These counts can be further used for the creation of the generative natural movement patterns [23].…”

An Investigation of the Influence of the Night Lighting in a Urban Park on Individuals’ Emotions

“…This strongly limits the participants' experience, who are forced to give their judgments without having a full view of the surrounding or without exploring them as they do in the real world. In situ walks have also been widely used for data collection [37,38]. Nevertheless, as in precedence, although participants are present in the environment they are asked to assess, it is very complex evaluating different types of solutions in on-site sessions and collecting data accordingly.…”