Background
Rapid urbanization worldwide has led to public service challenges in informal neighborhoods. While researchers and policymakers have focused on providing other basic services, public lighting has been neglected. Yet, public lighting makes it easier to access shared basic services after dark and helps residents feel safe outside at night. In Cape Town, insufficient public lighting in informal neighborhoods is largely attributed to historical race-based segregation and economic inequality. Existing policies continue to promote high-mast lights, despite the technology’s fallbacks. This transdisciplinary project tested the efficacy of wall-mounted solar public lights and the impact of this alternative public lighting on life at night (perceived safety, outdoor activities, and experience of crime). he findings will provide policymakers with information on the suitability of a new, environmentally sustainable technology to provide public lighting in informal settlements. At the same time, the results provide evidence of the impact of public lighting on life at night from the second-ever randomized controlled trial (RCT) studying public lighting.
Research questions
Can solar lights mounted directly onto each house be an effective alternative, with regard to light provision on streets, to high-mast lights and standard streetlights in informal settlements?
What is the impact of public lighting on nighttime life and spatial practices, measured through residents’ perceived safety, nighttime activities, experience of crime, and access to infrastructure?
Policy relevance
Sustainable Development Goal 11 aims to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable,” yet none of the sub-targets of that goal focus on public lighting in informal settlements. While some informal settlement have varying forms of public streetlight, many others have none at all. In Cape Town, where high-mast lighting is the most frequent public lighting technology used in informal settlements, few have studied whether this solution provides effective public lighting at night. This research aims to understand how the existing public lighting situation for informal settlements in Cape Town and to design a public lighting approach designed specifically for the socio-spatial conditions of informal settlements. At the same time, the project is intended to address the City of Cape Town’s interest in policies that simultaneously meet urban needs and improve resilience to climate change. The results should be useful for other cities, like Nairobi and Windhoek, which have begun installing high-mast lights in their own informal settlements. An impact evaluation of the solar public lighting provides critical information about how to address access to public lighting in informal settlements and move toward more equal provision of public lighting for all Cape Town residents.