Description

Many people are familiar with the idea of greening cities, which involves developing and enhancing urban green spaces. But what if we to start talking about darkening cities in a similar way?

Lancaster University Professor of Urban Design Nick Dunn says we would be able to reach important goals in relation to biodiversity, health and well-being of humans and nonhumans, and climate objectives.

Imagine a whole new world of effective shared living where we listen to our natural rhythms instead of fighting against them and we tackle light pollution so we can all see the stars at night.

Ditching urban lighting as we know it and designing buildings to be nocturnal, says Professor Dunn, will be beneficial for ourselves and the planet.

“When we consider what futures are possible, they tend to direct us to visions of either a shiny, frictionless world which is light and bright or, at the other end of the spectrum, they are fearsome, shadowy dystopias.

“We urgently need new ways to think of futures to save the planet, other species, and ourselves.”

Reclaiming darkness, says Professor Dunn, will enable ideas for an alternative future, which are neither environmentally catastrophic nor technologically evangelical.

This bold vision questions the outdated view of darkness something to be feared and designed against and, by doing so, proposes a reconnection of humans within the wider world – a true multispecies coexistence that is in tune with our body clocks and nature’s rhythms.

“In an unprecedented era of climate emergency, we need to fundamentally rethink what we do, how we do it, and why,” adds Professor Dunn.

“Embracing darkness is about so much more than tackling light pollution. In fact, it runs through everything and is the key to reconnecting with the world around us."