Sofia: promoting a vibrant nightlife with light

The Municipality of Sofia aims to create a safe and comfortable environment focusing on the welfare of its citizens by the implementation of environmentally and socially sustainable public lighting solutions.

The city, which offers its citizens night skiing, night ice-skating and night bicycling opportunities, is focused on enabling inhabitants to enjoy more outdoor activities at night. It recently inaugurated “Skate Park Sofia”, the largest skate park in the Balkans, which is specially lit using four photovoltaic columns positioned to ensure that the shadows caused by the varying levels of the skate park are kept to a minimum.
One of the priorities of Sofia’s new Public Lighting Master Plan, currently in the process of development, will also be the design and installation of effective lighting in public parks. At the moment, the city is implementing pilot projects for energy efficient lighting in South Park and Park Studentski (see PLUS showcase at www2.luciassociation.org/plus).

Sofia presented its public lighting strategy and its “Skate Park Sofia” best practice to experts during the PLUS Deep Dive on the 28th and 29th of February 2012.