LUCI is the voice of cities on urban lighting. We work on a daily basis to support cities in improving their urban lighting strategies, and advocate for the increased recognition of urban lighting as a tool to enable sustainable development at a local and global level.
Core documents, written collaboratively with our network, and recognised at the international level, have enabled LUCI to express positions, values and principles that underpin our work.
LUCI Declaration for the Future of Urban Lighting
Co-written with LUCI members, the Declaration lays down a collective vision for the future of urban lighting.
With a focus on quality of light over quantity of light, the Declaration lays out recommendations for adapting urban lighting strategies to climate mutations, changing lifestyles and technological evolutions.
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.
The Declaration is intended to inspire and call to action cities all around the world.
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
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We talk about the LUCI Declaration via LinkedIn and Twitter with #LUCIdeclaration
- 2022: throughout the 20th anniversary year of the network, a collective writing process took place within LUCI’s working groups and dedicated thematic workshops.
- 2 March 2023 in Jyväskylä, at the occasion of the Annual General Meeting: LUCI members adopted the Declaration
- 16 May 2023: the document was released publicly on the occasion of the International Day of Light;
- It is available in 5 languages: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Korean.
- The Declaration has been distributed via over 900 copies and downloaded 350 times from all over the world.
The LUCI Declaration in the news
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
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Meri Lumela, Deputy Chair of the City Council of Jyväskylä (Finland),
LUCI President from 2020 to 2024
LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting
Promoting a culture of sustainability in lighting
The Charter gives a clear view of the issues that sustainable lighting strategies should take into account.
It addresses challenges common to all: energy efficiency, improvement of the quality of life, maintenance, recycling, light pollution, the cultural and social dimensions of lighting…
Above all, the Charter provides a clear reference framework within which local authorities can develop their own lighting strategies.
The LUCI Charter is the product of contributions from more than 40 cities around the world and more than a year of work led within the network by the City of Leipzig.
Signatory cities
Between 2011 and 2022, cities that have signed the LUCI Charter:
Abomey (Benin) I Agii Anargiri-Kamatero (Greece) I Albertslund (Denmark) I Alingsås (Sweden) I Amsterdam (Netherlands) I Bamako (Mali) I Bharatpur (Nepal) I Brussels (Belgium) I Bucharest (Romania) I Budapest (Hungary) I Chartres (France) I Changwon (Korea) I Chefchaouen (Morocco) I Copenhagen (Denmark) I Dakar (Senegal) I Derry-Londonderry (UK) I Dubrovnik (Croatia) I Durham (UK) I Eindhoven (Netherlands) I Eskilstuna (Sweden) I Galway (Ireland) I Ghent (Belgium) I Glasgow (UK) I Gothenburg (Sweden) I Guadalajara (Mexico) I Gwangju (Korea) I Hamburg (Germany) I Helsinki (Finland) I Jerusalem (Israel) I Jyväskylä (Finland) I Leipzig (Germany) I Le Havre (France) I Liege (Belgium) I Linköping (Sweden) I Lyon (France) I Madiun Regency (Indonesia) I Marseille (France) I Medellin (Colombia) I Morelia (Mexico) I Moscow (Russia) I Novi Sad (Serbia) I Osaka (Japan) I Oslo (Norway) I Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) I Oulu (Finland) I Owerri (Nigeria) I Pau (France) I Paris (France) I Perth (Australia) I Porto Novo (Benin) I Puebla de Los Angeles (Mexico) I Rabat (Morocco) I Rome (Italy) I Rotterdam (Netherlands) I Seoul (Korea) I Saint Etienne Métropole (France) I Saint Louis (Senegal) I Saint Paul de Vence (France) I Taxco de Alarcon (Mexico) I Tallinn (Estonia) I Valladolid (Spain) I Vilnius (Lithuania) I Wuxi (China)
“With the “Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities” signed by the European minister’s conference in 2007, Leipzig’s name has become synonymous with sustainability throughout Europe. With the “LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting” Leipzig is continuing on its path in the field of sustainable urban lighting.”
Wolfgang Kunz, Head of the City Planning Office, Leipzig (Germany)
“The Charter is a positive step for our growing network and reflects the commitment of our cities to tackling this issue and promoting responsible urban lighting.”
Councillor Allan Stewart, Deputy Lord Provost, Glasgow City Council (UK), President of LUCI (2010 – 2012)
“The LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting marks a new stage in the development of the LUCI network and reinforces LUCI’s role in setting the international agenda on urban lighting.”
Jean-Michel Daclin, Honorary President of LUCI and former Deputy Mayor, City of Lyon (France)
“The City of Ghent ratified the international LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting because it contains all the policy goals which the City of Ghent has already integrated in its own lighting strategy and environmental policy.”
Martine De Regge , Deputy Mayor of Public Works and Mobility, City of Ghent (Belgium), LUCI President of LUCI (from 2012 to- 2014)
“The fight against climate change is an environmental issue that engages us, as local authorities, to make public lighting a strategic priority for sustainable development. We are pleased to express our commitment to sustainable development to the world by signing the LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting.”
Soham El Wardini, First Deputy Mayor of Dakar (Senegal)
Photo credits
©LUCI Association; ©City of Busan; ©Jiri Halttunen; ©Rami Saarikorpi