LUCI Declaration for the future of urban lighting

Drafted and reviewed by LUCI members, during co-creation sessions and gatherings held throughout the 20th anniversary year of the network, the Declaration lays down a collective vision for the future of urban lighting.

It aims to help cities in the next 3, 5 or 10 years, to navigate a complex policy background in the rapidly evolving field of urban lighting.

Download the LUCI Declaration

The LUCI Declaration proposes recommendations for adapting urban lighting strategies to climate mutations, changing lifestyles and technological evolutions, with a focus on quality over quantity.

This document is the result of a year-long process in the LUCI Network, with many working groups and events, attended by hundreds of lighting professionals and city representatives
Meri Lumela, Deputy Chair of the City Council of Jyväskylä (Finland) and President of LUCI

The orientations and solutions shared in this Declaration are intended to inspire and call to action cities around the world.

After LUCI members adopted the Declaration at the Annual General Meeting on Thursday 2nd March 2023 in Jyväskylä, LUCI Association chose to release the document on the occasion of the International Day of Light, on May 16th, 2023. Since then, the #LUCIdeclaration has already been downloaded over a hundred times from all over the world! It is available in English, French, Spanish, and Dutch.

About the Declaration

Lighting is an essential tool for mobility, economy, culture and social cohesion of cities, which has led to the development of urban lighting strategies and projects and events around light.
But in a context of climate and energy crisis, increased awareness of light pollution and the effects of light on biodiversity and human health, it is now necessary to consider light as a precious public good, to be used with care, at the right time and at the right level.

The challenge is to promote an inclusive public space accessible to all citizens after dark, to improve the safety and comfort of public spaces, to strengthen local identity and economic development, while minimising the environmental and ecological footprint of light.

With this in mind, 7 major objectives have been set out in the Declaration.

1. Embracing Net Zero Lighting
2. Minimising light pollution for all living beings
3. Supporting health and well-being
4. Progressing through public-private dialogue
5. Realising the full potential of community engagement
6. Harnessing the transformative power of light art
7. Creating synergies beyond lighting

The Declaration then deepens the reflections and details the courses of action on some of the key points addressed:

> How to meet the challenges of minimising light pollution,
> How to develop urban lighting policies for happy and healthy cities after dark,
> How to move towards a community-driven approach of urban lighting,
> How to envisage the future of light festivals