I’m preparing a real wonder-post…in my humble opinion, but it’s taking a while to put together. To make up for the missing weekend addition to my blog I have a query for those of you who live in an urban environment.
Lighting is generally considered key to overall security whether it be personal or property. I have porch lights both front and back and two solar lamps in the alley running down the detached side of my row house. Across the street there is a street light which, for years, was clearly “under-illuminating” the block. A few weeks ago it stopped working altogether and the new lamp is much brighter.
That would be a good thing, right?
Only…in the week or so since that area has been more brightly illuminated there have been, it seems, many more impromptu late night conversations, debates, and get-togethers going on hereabouts.
Before:
After:
None of this activity has been criminal, or even particularly rambunctious, just a bit more frequent. This is not scientific, of course, but it isn’t that I’m looking out more frequently, nor is it that it was so dark that I would have missed these goings on before. My hypothesis is that people would rather sit and talk, even if it is on someone else’s front steps, in an area that is well lit. Can you have too much light? Can it attract problems?
Any thoughts?
It is possible that these folks are serving as your eyes on the street, even if they don’t realize it. The more light=more security premise might actually depend on attracting legit activity, which drives out illegitimate activity.
It messes with my stargazing but that is pretty much it.
If the light is overly harsh what can happen is that it creates very dark shadows which “nefarious” activities can hide.
There’s a significant literature out there that seems to show that increased lighting at a citywide level may actually increase crime. If I recall correctly a town in England increased lighting and crime rose, and the same thing happened in, again if memory serves, Tulsa, Oklahoma. I don’t know about cases like yours, when just one spot is lit up, but I figure the same principle could be at work–that lighting makes it easier to do bad stuff as well as good stuff.
I’ll look for those. Interesting, not that I can do anything about it!
THIS. The cobrahead in front of our Mountainview St house stopped working 6 months ago, and nothing but benefits has occurred. More stars, more wildlife, more sleep for my daughter, whose bedroom faces the lamp. We probably only need 1/3 of the streetlighting we have.
A late comment, but it might help: in my town, the gas & electric company will turn down the light intensity, if it’s not deemed a hazard to do so and if you request it. A neighbor told me that they turned it to the lowest setting for him after he complained that it interfered with using his telescope (he happened to be a state senator, but I don’t think that had EVERYTHING to do with it). It might be worth a try.