Light Pollution
Preserving LA’s Dark Skies
Learn about the importance of dark skies for the health and enjoyment of individuals and wildlife, and how L.A. County's Rural Outdoor Lighting District is helping to reduce light pollution.
Turning Out the Lights on Light Pollution
Limiting light pollution can have beneficial effects for humans, animals, and the local economy.
The Importance of Dark Skies
Why light pollution harms humans and the environment.
D.C. Residents Fight Light Pollution
New LED lighting has raised concerns about the health and environmental impacts of excessive or harsh lighting.
Pittsburgh Becomes First 'Dark Sky' City in Eastern U.S.
As evidence showing the benefits of dark skies builds, Pittsburgh becomes the first eastern American city to enact a dark sky policy.
LEDs, Downward Lights Changing the Night in Chicago
The nighttime illumination of Chicago is almost finished with a complete overhaul of its streetlights, producing a dramatic effect in the nighttime environment of the city.
How the Lights in Our Cities Became Too Bright
“Why are lighting designers and experts nearly unified in their belief that outdoor lighting in past years has been excessive?”
Cities Try to Turn on the Dark
Of all the inventions of the modern world, few have been so embraced as artificial light. But constant light, like that which floods city streets and illuminates buildings, is not necessarily healthy or safe. Some cities are trying to go dark.
Designing the Shadow-less Skyscraper
Architects at NBBJ in London have designed a building—two buildings rather—that work together to cancel out the shadows they cast.
Friday Night Lights: NASA Can See Your Holiday Lights from Space
One of the first things researchers noticed when nighttime images from the Suomi NPP satellite were beamed back to Earth: the planet's ambient lighting changes drastically during certain holidays, like Christmas and Ramadan.
Keeping Cities in the Dark
There's a third dimension to sprawl: all those photons that emanate from street lights, houses, and vehicles. As author Paul Bogard discusses in The End of Night, light pollution is an overlooked menace that presents a new frontier for planners.
How LEDs Re-Illuminate the Urban Night Sky
Forbes Magazine reflects on the importance and impacts of light-emitting diode (LED) lights as more cities replace their traditional streetlamps with LEDs.
Chicago Lighting Proposal Would Turn the Wattage Up
As part of an initiative called Choose Chicago, meant to boost the city's draw for tourists, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pursuing a plan to light the city up
Light Pollution in Rural Virginia: A Photo Essay
The End of Night author Paul Bogard works with photography student Jennifer Tremblay to showcase light pollution in the Shenandoah Valley town of Harrisonburg.
Artist Envisions the Elusive Pleasures of Urban Stargazing
Unless a catastrophic natural disaster strikes your city (we're not hoping it does), the chances of being able to gaze upon the wonders of the cosmos from an urban perch are slim. Thierry Cohen provides a glimpse of the night sky without pollution.
Sustainability Over Tradition as Paris Turns Out the Lights
France's Environment Ministry has decreed that as of July, all shops and offices in the country will be required to shut off their lights at night in order to save energy and “reduce the print of artificial lighting on the nocturnal environment.”
Turning off the Lights to See the Stars
A movement to shed light on the worldwide loss of dark skies aims to minimize light pollution in order to increase public opportunities for stargazing, while also serving as a money-saving measure for cities, reports Kate Galbraith.
Preserving Darkness
France is hoping to establish a "darkness reserve" by regulating street lighting in towns and villages near a mountaintop observatory.
Urban Light Affecting Animal Behavior
Light reflecting from streets and glass buildings in cities have been found in a recent study to disrupt animal behavior.
New York City's Glow Dims
With rising energy prices, lights are dimming in New York City. Legislation in the state seeks to reduce the city's glow even more.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
