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Department of Geography Space, Nature and Society

Spotlight: Sustainability Potential of Outdoor Light Technology

  • Grand Café Esplanade Zürich

    Grand Café Esplanade Zürich (Oskar Zimmermann, 1939, Courtesy of ZHdK, 18-0204.)

  • Shop lights illuminate square

    Shops illuminate square (Photo: N. Backhaus)

  • Tram at Zurich's Limmatquai

    Tram at Zurich's Limmatquai (Photo: N. Backhaus)

  • Illuminated University building

    Lit UZH main building (Photo: N. Backhaus)

Public illumination has emerged as a key networked infrastructure for over a century, expanding alongside the growth and densification of urban fabric of cities. The Swiss Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU) estimates that light emissions in Switzerland have doubled in the past 25 years. Concerns over energy consumption and the detrimental impacts of outdoor lighting—on astronomical observation, terrestrial and marine ecosystems, human health, and the quality of public spaces—have made it a pressing political issue in recent years. 

The interdisciplinary SNF Sinergia project SPOTLIGHT (Sustainability Potential of Outdoor Light Technology) investigates how outdoor lighting infrastructure can be made more socio-ecologically sustainable. Through socio-historical and evidence-based social and experimental research, the project aims to update and optimize current lighting practices and standards. 

The Human Geography component of SPOTLIGHT examines historical and ongoing socio-technological changes in nocturnal public lighting in Switzerland, with a focus on the Zurich metropolitan area. Key research questions include: 

  • How do lighting experts assess the current lighting situation in Switzerland and what future needs and challenges do they identify? 

  • How does the general public perceive existing lighting infrastructure in different settings and which lighting practices do they find acceptable? 

  • What are the perceived pros and cons of experimental exposure to different outdoor lighting conditions and how do socio-cultural backgrounds influence lighting perceptions and preferences? 

To address these questions, the project employs a transdisciplinary reserarch methodology comprising of documentary and archival research, walking interviews with experts, nocturnal workers, and residents to explore experiences of nighttime lighting and its socio-technical transformations, cartographic analysis of Zurich’s nightscape, as well as participant observation of Zurich’s nocturnal life. 

Spotlight Human Geography project team

Norman Backhaus
Nitin Bathla
Sophia Heller

Learn more about the Sinergia SPOTLIGHT project