Planning artificial light at night for pedestrian visualdiversity in public spaces

This paper makes the case for pedestrian visualdiversity in planning artificial light at night in public spaces. A preliminary literature review showed that limited research and applications have been developed addressing and acknowledging pedestrian visualdiversity, defined here as the condition and the needs of visually impaired pedestrians in public spaces at night. To further research this gap, open-ended interviews with experts in the field of artificial lighting and health were conducted by the authors. The interviewees confirmed the scarcity of studies and projects targeting pedestrian visualdiversity and provided insights on five related issues, i.e., contrast, glare, illuminance, light colour and the use of new technology. Against this backdrop, firstly materials and methods of the study are illustrated, while the aforementioned five issues are discussed subsequently by reporting recommendations shared by the interviewees. In conclusion, a framework for the application of lightwalks is presented as an inclusive experiential method for involving visualdiverse pedestrians in assessing and planning ALAN in public spaces.