These days, smart, sustainable lighting is becoming a priority objective for many cities worldwide. Renewing a city’s public lighting systems is considered an essential step that must be taken to make both large and small locations more liveable, and it is also the first step on the technological pathway that leads straight to the smart city. Light is also an area in which new economic and cultural partnerships are being built, to help the local authorities be better-informed about the new technologies and their impact on the city. One of the most active associations in this field is LUCI (Light Urban Community International), which brings together 70 cities scattered throughout the world, which are interested in promoting innovative lighting policies.

The Seoul Declaration

Over 50 cities from all four corners of the globe gathered in Seoul for the Annual General Meeting of LUCI, during which they signed a Declaration to reaffirm the principles of sustainable, quality lighting as one of the main drivers for creating cities that are more pleasant to live in.

The Key points of the Seoul Declaration call for:

Quality urban lighting for building better cities: the document promotes common actions for a liveable city with citizen-focused lighting and a governance framework designed to develop inclusive, balanced and effective strategies for urban lighting.

A culture of sustainable lighting in cities worldwide: the document also calls for the promotion of a culture of sustainable lighting in cities worldwide, increasing the energy efficiency of public lighting and favouring the development of sustainable ecosystems of light.

Innovation in the lighting sector as a driver for quality of life: the new lighting technologies, which have become a powerful engine and tool for enhancing the quality of people’s lives, will help to make cities safer, more interactive and adaptable to citizens’ needs.

Based on the key values of the LUCI Strategic Plan [2017-27], the Declaration marks a significant new step forward in the development of the LUCI network and includes the establishment of the first LUCI Regional Office for Asia.

” With the Seoul Declaration and the LUCI Strategic Plan [2017-2027], LUCI is taking a bold new step into the future, a future in which light helps create the innovative public spaces that our citizens need,” said Mary Ann Schreurs, President of LUCI, and councillor for Innovation and Design, Culture and Sustainability of the City of Eindhoven (Netherlands).

According to Won Soon Park, Mayor of Seoul: “The Seoul Declaration of LUCI is in line with the City of Seoul’s commitment to building a sustainable, smart, people-oriented city with urban lighting.”

Metropolises all over the world are turning to LED

The big cities in all five continents are launching plans to optimise the efficiency of their public lighting systems. Here are a few examples.

Australia: Sydney

The plan launched in 2012 to optimise the efficiency of the public lighting system has reduced consumption by 48% each year, generating a saving of 800,000 Australian dollars thanks to the installation of more than 6,000 LED spotlights in the city’s streets and parks.

Source: http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/

USA: Chicago

The municipal authorities have launched the Chicago Smart Lighting programme which involves the pilot installation of state-of-the-art lights in seven neighbourhoods. The citizens will be asked to rate the new lights before the plan to replace all the street lamps throughout the city is implemented.

Source: https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en.html

Africa: Cape Town

The management of Cape Town Utility Service has announced that it will be investing over 65 million Rand in street lighting. The plan includes the extension of the lighting network and the replacement of the existing sodium vapour street lights with LED sources.

Source: http://www.capetown.gov.za/

 

Asia: New Delhi

In New Delhi, the Indian Electricity Authority has completed one of the largest relamping projects in the world with LED sources, installing them in more than 200,000 spotlights. The project is continuing, with the installation of 75,000 new street lamps in the southern area of the city.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/

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