Public lighting: a new democratic issue in the ecological transition?

This study will be supplemented by a webinar organized on Thursday July 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and hosted by Marianne Laloy Borgna, study manager at La Fabrique de la Cité, in the company of Marie-Pierre Alexandre, general director of the French Lighting Association (AFE), and Julien Brémaud, head of the Roads, Travel and Lighting department at La Roche-sur-Yon.

The energy crisis of winter 2022 highlighted, for communities, the need to reduce consumption and the imperative to avoid supply disruptions. Two constraints which have guided measures to reduce, sometimes drastic, public lighting.

This significant collective experience may have destabilized some citizens, disrupted activities, led to virulent opposition... or, on the contrary, inspired political innovations, reinforced citizen experiences, accelerated the deployment of new technologies. Priority considered as a "technical" lever that can be activated without great difficulty, partial or total extinction has highlighted the role of lighting in the organization of public space, in the enhancement of heritage, in time management of life. The richness of the reactions elicited is also a textbook case for understanding the effects that lighting can have on biodiversity and quality of life.

This study first puts public lighting into historical perspective in the construction of cities and public space. She is also interested in the link between budgetary pressure and renewed interest among public actors in lighting and light sobriety and in its societal and security dimension. Finally, it is based on four examples of communities having explored distinct levers for transforming lighting conditions:

• The municipality of Libourne, which was able to combine the renovation of public lighting with the implementation of a smart city system to quickly finance and optimize its public lighting fleet.
• The municipality of Annemasse, which has initiated discussions on light pollution and its public lighting policy since 2016 to protect black lines and preserve the life cycle of nocturnal species.
• The municipality of Mulhouse which has made public lighting a support for its urban planning strategy in order to enhance the cultural and heritage dimensions of its public spaces.
• The Brest Metropolis which has decided to “unsilo” its public lighting policy to focus on consultation. By bringing together all the services concerned, citizens, researchers but also private actors generating light pollution, the Metropolis has managed to implement a form of light sobriety accepted by its residents.

The note “Public lighting: New democratic challenge of the ecological transition” is available here.