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Public lighting in a context of the regeneration processes in Polish cities

Conference Paper · June 2015

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Natalia Sokol Justyna Martyniuk-Pęczek

Gdansk University of Technology Gdansk University of Technology
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 Public lighting in a context of the regeneration
processes in Polish cities
CIE 2015 Poster No. PO2-74
contact: natalia@playlight.pl
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the role of electric
lighting design in urban regeneration processes.
The landscape of the modern city is a result of an
accumulation of the various physical, economic, social and
cultural layers over the centuries. Urban lighting may be
described as one of the physical layers, which due recent
developments in the technology of efficient light sources,
overcomes a major evolution. With an entrance of pixel light
into the urban texture a perception and meaning of public
lighting keeps changing. Due to transitions in style of life,
which expands to 24 hours a day, the role of lighting in the
contemporary urban texture is growing. Public lighting not
only provides visibility and safety but also helps to create an
experience of an urban space, enhance its marketing.
Electric light revealing buildings and spaces from the
darkness of a night is one of the elements shaping an image
of the modern urban environment [1, 2, 3, 4] A careful review
of the vast number of scientific papers focusing on
contemporary issues within Polish urban environment
exposed an absence of lighting considerations especially in
regard to regeneration processes [2, 5]. The purpose of this
paper is to reflect on the role of electric lighting design in
urban regeneration processes. The other objectives of this
research is to illustrate legal problems of public lighting
infrastructure in Poland, lack of cooperation between
parties involved in urban planning and a design of
public lighting, a lack of lighting masterplans.
Thesis
The thesis tested in the research is that a
comprehensive public lighting design can help to
transform the negative image of declined urban areas in
Polish cities.
State of Research
Holistic approach towards lighting design is very often
overlooked aspect in regeneration and in urban planning in
Poland [2, 6]. One of the reasons may be a complicated
ownership system of lighting infrastructure. There are three
basics models of public lighting ownership and others
additional systems [7]. The most common model is “passive
municipality”, in which the power company owns and
maintain the lighting infrastructure, while the municipality
pays the power company for the consumption, usage and
maintenance services of lighting. The other model is “active
municipality” in which the municipality assumes the
acquisition of the lighting assets by the local municipality
unit and the electric company debits the municipality the
cost of electricity consumed by street lighting. In this case,
the maintenance of lighting infrastructure can be performed
by any entity, selected in accordance with the public law.
The third model occurs when another unrelated company
created by the municipality and the utility company party
takes over the lighting assets form and handles the lighting
infrastructure [7] .
To sum up, the lighting infrastructure in Polish municipalities
is owned by power companies or their subsidiaries in 70% -
75% of cases [8]. According to the Energy Law [9] the
financing of road lighting and public lighting belongs to the
tasks of local government. The municipalities do not invest
in lighting infrastructure because they do not own it. On the
other hand, energy companies are not interested in
modernizing the lighting infrastructure, because the
expenditure on investment is on their side, while the benefits
of reducing electricity consumption would be only on the
side of municipalities. This legal situation means that the
municipality gradually takes over the lighting infrastructure of
power plants; and this process is slow mainly due to the lack
of necessary funds [10].
Street lighting
Architectural lighting
Marketing lighting Need of coordination
Entertainment lighting
Christmas
lighting
Figure 1. There are voices stating that the structure of
financing for public lighting needs to be clarified by new laws
[11, 3].
Literature cited
1. BRANDI, U., GEISSMAR-BRANDI C. 2007 Light for Cities: Lighting Design for Urban Spaces, Switzerland: Birkhauser.
2. GRACZYK, R., NAWROWSKI, A., KOŁATA, J. 2012. Oświetlenie elektryczne jako element rewitalizacji na przykładzie aglomeracji poznańskiej.
Deklinacja odnowy miast. Z dyskusji nad rewitalizacją w Polsce. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Społecznych UAM, 269-278.
3. MARTYNIUK-PĘCZEK, J. 2014 Światła miasta, 1st ed. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Marina.
4. RAYNHAM, P. Public Lighting in Cities. 2007. In: (Procedings) International Conference ILUMINAT 2007, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 2007.
5. MARTYNIUK-PĘCZEK, J. 2009. Rewitalizacja przestrzeni publicznej przy udziale światła sztucznego. In Lorens, P. & Martyniuk-Pęczek, J. In:
Wybrane Zagadnienia Rewitalizacji Miast. 1st ed. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Urbanista, pp. 167-183.
6. SOKÓŁ, N., MARTYNIUK-PĘCZEK, J., 2014. Lighting Design For Urban Revitalization. The Case of Poland. In: XXIII Krajowa Konferencja
Oświetleniowa Technika Świetlna Warszawa, 2014.
7. RECHUL, H., JEWUŁA, T., RECHUL, M. Modernizacja oświetlenia ulic na przykładzie gminy Jaworzno, Wokół Energetyki, czerwiec 2007.
8. GÓRCZEWSKA, M., ŚLĘK, B. 2008. Analizy i ekspertyzy dotyczące źródeł światła. Źródła światła w gospodarstwach domowych. In:
Oświetlenie dróg, ulic i miejsc publicznych. Ministerstwo Gospodarki
https://www.mg.gov.pl/NR/rdonlyres/AADB6664-50BD-4B03-9F6521344D9C77C2/56655/Analizacalosci.pdf.> [11 August 2014].
9. USTAWA PRAWO ENERGETYCZNE, 1997. Art. 18. Ust. 1, In: Dz.U. 1997 Nr 54 poz. 348 10 April 1997. Available from:
http://www.isap.sejm.gov.pl/Download?id=WDU19970540348&type=3and <http://www.nfosigw.gov.pl and http> (08 August.2014).
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Justyna Martyniuk-Pęczek, Natalia Sokół
FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE
Department of Urban Design and Regional Planning
Neil
Materials Rodger
and methods
In the context of urban development, regeneration objectives are related to socio-economic, environmental and spatial issues;
thus infrastructure operations, architectural and urban planning are subordinate objectives. The main features of regeneration
processes are their complexity and synergetic character of actions. Regeneration planning not only enforces the cooperation of
public services, local municipalities, business, and industry, but encourages residents’ involvement as well.
Public lighting should fulfil basic needs of city dwellers that include provision of: safe movement, visual orientation, visual
comfort, facial recognition and a general feeling of safety [4]. The objectives of the city lighting can be studied from different
sets of perspectives: the human factors perspective [13, 14], a city image perspective [1] and a performance perspective [15] or
marketing perspective [16, 3]. Targets for lighting of residential areas focus on factors like safe movement, facial recognition
and an improvement of visual orientation and comfort. Town centre lighting objectives usually refer to increasing attractiveness
of the city, highlighting particular features of the urban landscape, and increasing comfort for people within an urban space [5,
16]. Lighting objectives for post-industrial areas focus on attracting people to the area, creating unforgettable lighting aesthetic,
and lighting events or installations that attract visitors and promote the new character of the space.
URBAN
PUBLIC
SET OF CHOSEN OBJECTIVES REGENERATION
PROCESSES
LIGHTING
revival of the declining areas 
socio-economic recovery 
restoration of social interactions 
improvement of the quality of life 
redevelopment of post-industrial and post military sites 
spatial recovery 
promotion of economic development by supporting 24 hours leisure economy, services and access to public facilities (ILE 2006)  
facilitation of social inclusion by providing the freedom to walk along & use our streets after dark (ILE 2006)  
promotion of sustainable transport, promoting public transport, cycling and walking (ILE 2006)  
increase in general feeling of safety  
provision of safe movement  
provision of visual orientation 
provision of visual comfort  
facial recognition 
city amenity  
comprehensive planning  
enhancement of aesthetics  
enhancement of key features of the area  
quality energy performance  
marketing 
creation of space experience  
Table 1. Chosen regeneration and public lighting objectives sets.
The scientific discourse over a role of public lighting within urban structures in Poland focuses on deficiencies in a coherent
lighting policy and a lack of comprehensive lighting solutions for whole cities.- lighting masterplans [17, 2]. The attempts to use
lighting as a design tool in regeneration initiatives may be noticed in creation of lighting festivals, regeneration of postmilitary
places. Lighting infrastructure in areas undergoing regeneration, depending on the degree and nature of the revival, is
subjected to a comprehensive modernization. However, regeneration by lighting cannot be identify with a change of outdated
lighting infrastructure into a modern one to increase safety levels.
The first conclusions from the review of literature and site cases on a place of public lighting within regeneration processes in
Poland reveal : .
• an absence of proper application procedures and models
• a deficiency of coherent concepts on the level application policies
• a lack of communications between parties involved in planning processes
• very few examples of lighting master planning policy
• poor aesthetic solutions mixed with well-executed installations
• small number of research done in the area of architectural lighting and urban texture relations
The lack of communication and a lack of interest in lighting considerations among professionals dealing with regenerations
issues may be also seen on the educational level. Reviewing subjects of over 100 thesis written since 2009 to fulfil the
requirements of postgraduate studies on urban regeneration at the Gdańsk University of Technology none of them, except one,
researched lighting planning in context of regeneration project. The apparent lack of holistic and comprehensive lighting
approaches is frequently exacerbated by the separation of lighting design from urban and architectural planning, as well as
from revitalization planning. This situation often results in confusion who should make lighting design decision. On the other
hand, the demand for good public lighting design is increasing steadily which is seen in a rising number of outdoor lighting
applications.
Ongoing research
To perform further research on a role of lighting within regeneration projects the authors decided to put under a revision
process several completed regenerations projects. The criteria of assessment and analysis are still under a development
process. In a meanwhile to investigate new channels of social consultation, the authors took part in social participation urban
regeneration workshops Quo vadis, Gdańsku?, where residents design their city. The results were obtained by questionnaires,
interviews with the residents and municipality representatives, local visits to the sites and design studies. The preliminary
findings distinguish that lighting design is often associated by residents with a feeling of safety but also lighting design is seen
as a tool enhancing prestige and beauty of the site.
Conclusions
Despite regeneration models complexity lighting strategies
should be parts of regeneration planning at the very early
The important role of public lighting in the creation of the stages because public lighting can help to transform a
contemporary city form experience and its image is negative image of declined urban areas. The experience of
unquestionable. Urban lighting forces comprehensive thinking lighting master planning constitutes a range of
and planning, ensures responsible energy use, promotes complementary improvements in relation to urban spaces,
improvement of safety and amenity, and it should be architecture and associated infrastructure, with the intention
implemented as a part of regeneration planning in Poland. In of achieving social, economic and environmental benefits.
regard to public lighting a lack of coordination in planning The lack of scientific dialog and cooperation between
between parties involved in regeneration processes may be professionals form different fields, and a confusing legal
observed. As well as deficiencies in regulations concerning ownership of public lighting infrastructure are the
compressive city lighting planning and regulations insuring greatest reasons for an absence of the comprehensive
lighting design presence within regeneration planning. lighting design in regeneration planning.
10. GRZONKOWSKI, J. 2014. Inwestycje oświetleniowe w gminach – problemy prawne. In: Technika Świetlna 2014, XXIII Krajowa
Konferencja Oświetleniowa, Warszawa, 20–21 listopada 2014.
11. SZPRINGER, Z. 2011 Opinia dotycząca kosztów finansowania oświetlenia autostrad i dróg ekspresowych przez gminy. In: Zeszyty
Prawnicze Biura Analiz Sejmowych Kancelarii Sejmu, Warszawa: 3(31) 2011 pp. 220–232.
12. ZWIERCHANOWSKI, R. 2007 Czy światło jest ważnym czynnikiem dla otoczenia? In: Krajowa Agencja Poszanowania Energii S.A. (KAPE
S.A.) Konferencja Naukowo – Techniczna Sztuka Oświetlania. Systemy oświetlania. Elektroenergetyczne urządzenia rozdzielcze.
Kołobrzeg 17-19 May 2007.
13. BOYCE, P.R. 2003. Human Factors in Lighting, 2nd ed. New York: Taylor and Francis.
14. TILLETT, L. 2003. A Social Activity Approach to Design. Practical Issues pp 22-29, 2003.
Departament Energetyki. Available from: 15. RAYNHAM P., GARDNER, C. 2001. Urban Lights: Sustainable Urban Lighting for Town Centre Regeneration. In: (Proceedings) Lux Europa
2001, Reykjavik: Lux Europa 2001.
16. MANSFIELD, K., RAYNHAM, P. 2005. Urban Lights: Sustainable Urban Lighting for Town Centre Regeneration. Berlin: Lux Europa.
17. SKALSKI, K. 2010. Rewitalizacja w Polsce po roku 2009 a rozwój dydaktyki dla zarządzania tym procesem. In Noworól, A., Sklaski, K. eds.
Contemporary Understanding of Revitalization in Poland. 1st ed. Kraków: Monographs and Studies of Jagiellonian University Institute of
Public Affairs, pp 27-42.
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