Preserve pipistrelles and amphibians, reassure residents or both at the same time? Against light pollution, lighting designers are trying to find solutions to protect biodiversity without preventing human activity.
In his Paris offices, François Migeon, lighting artist, is working with his team on an eco-district project in Pantin, near Paris.
The whole will alternate new housing and green spaces, but it is also planned to set up a black grid, a dark path to allow the migration of species between natural spaces.
“We realize that we do not necessarily have the same fauna and flora from one space to another. The more we connect them, the more we will enrich biodiversity. And night is a good time to generate these circulations”, explains François Migeon.
Light pollution is starting to be better and better taken into account, including in urban development projects.
“We now know that this pollution has the 'same effects' as concrete, that is to say that it will degrade habitats for species that are sensitive to nighttime light and it will also create barriers”, deciphers Romain Sordello, specialist on the subject at the French Biodiversity Office.
The expert describes to AFP a range of deleterious effects: “Animals that navigate with the stars will have a tendency to move towards artificial lights. They will be lured into 'traps' where they will generally die from exhaustion, like insects.”
At the other end of the spectrum, certain animals – bats, amphibians, etc. – are repelled by light, which exposes them to predators.
To protect them, we therefore need corridors – these famous black frames – where darkness reigns. In the case of Pantin, François Migeon shows the map: a cemetery on one side, a large green space on the other, a little further on the Parc de la Villette. The objective is to light up the city while creating a dark path between these places.
– “Re-enchant the night” –
“When we do a project, we try to understand how the city works. Where is the train station? Where are the centers of attraction? Are there people who will go out late? This will create a sort of lighting program which will allow us to give appropriate responses”, explains the designer.
Several solutions can be implemented, between presence detection and extinguishing lights. Lighting engineers are also working on innovations, such as a mobile phone that would allow lighting in the area crossed or portable lanterns to rent based on the Vélib model.
An idea defended by Roger Narboni, who developed the concept of black frame in public lighting. “We should change the software,” pleads the lighting designer from his Parisian apartment.
“Do we still systematically need public lighting? Can't we give people more autonomy? We can have sensors, presence detectors, we even have control vocal There is a phenomenal technological capacity today”, he lists.
The public authorities still need to follow suit. At the end of 2018, France adopted a decree relating to the prevention of light pollution, which notably sets the switching off of lighting at one o'clock in the morning for parks or shop windows. But the means of control remain limited.
Cities are also confronted with the feeling of insecurity generated by the night, even if it does not necessarily encourage attacks. “We must nevertheless take this feeling into account,” says Roger Narboni. “With differentiated paths, in the dark and in the light.”
If the road remains long, awareness is growing, believe the actors interviewed by AFP.
“I don’t imagine that we will move towards total darkness in the next ten years,” concedes Mr. Narboni, “but I believe in an education in darkness: we must re-enchant the night.” If only because this will, in all cases, save energy.
