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Schroer, S., Huggins, B. J., Azam, C., & Hölker, F. (2020). Working with Inadequate Tools: Legislative Shortcomings in Protection against Ecological Effects of Artificial Light at Night. Sustainability, 12(6), 2551.
Abstract: The fundamental change in nocturnal landscapes due to the increasing use of artificial light at night (ALAN) is recognized as being detrimental to the environment and raises important regulatory questions as to whether and how it should be regulated based on the manifold risks to the environment. Here, we present the results of an analysis of the current legal obligations on ALAN in context with a systematic review of adverse effects. The legal analysis includes the relevant aspects of European and German environmental law, specifically nature conservation and immission control. The review represents the results of 303 studies indicating significant disturbances of organisms and landscapes. We discuss the conditions for prohibitions by environmental laws and whether protection gaps persist and, hence, whether specific legislation for light pollution is necessary. While protection is predominantly provided for species with special protection status that reveal avoidance behavior of artificially lit landscapes and associated habitat loss, adverse effects on species and landscapes without special protection status are often unaddressed by existing regulations. Legislative shortcomings are caused by difficulties in proving adverse effect on the population level, detecting lighting malpractice, and applying the law to ALAN-related situations. Measures to reduce ALAN-induced environmental impacts are highlighted. We discuss whether an obligation to implement such measures is favorable for environmental protection and how regulations can be implemented.
Keywords: Conservation; Animals; Society; Law
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Pracki, P., & Skarżyński, K. (2020). A Multi-Criteria Assessment Procedure for Outdoor Lighting at the Design Stage. Sustainability, 12(4), 1330.
Abstract: This paper presents an attempt at a unified approach for the assessment of outdoor lighting solutions at the design stage. First of all, the lighting criteria for different types of outdoor lighting installations have been carefully described. Despite the differences in criteria, it is possible to find a common ground for the assessment of lighting solutions at the design stage. This is based on the need for the assessment of lighting solutions to be included in the requirements for the luminous environment, light pollution, and energy efficiency. The review and analysis of the standards and reports allows an experimental procedure to be created, the main aim of which is to find the best and most sustainable lighting solution for any outdoor situation. The procedure was tested by the example of an analysis of parking lot lighting solutions. In the case analyzed, 120 solutions were considered. It appeared that, in only 65 cases were the requirements referring to both lighting condition and light pollution met. Finally, based on the lighting energy efficiency assessment, ten solutions were selected as the most suitable. Furthermore, only one solution out of the ten was the most beneficial, taking into account the extra criterion of basic economic cost. The case study confirms that the assessment procedure allows the most beneficial solution to be selected, taking into account the luminous environment, as well as light pollution and energy efficiency criteria. The proposed multi-criteria assessment procedure may be used as a valuable tool by lighting designers to select the most beneficial solution in order to meet the needs of safety, visual efficiency, and comfort, as well as taking into account light pollution and energy efficiency restrictions.
Keywords: Lighting
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Duan, X., Hu, Q., Zhao, P., Wang, S., & Ai, M. (2020). An Approach of Identifying and Extracting Urban Commercial Areas Using the Nighttime Lights Satellite Imagery. Remote Sensing, 12(6), 1029.
Abstract: Urban commercial areas can reflect the spatial distribution of business activities. However, the scope of urban commercial areas cannot be easily detected by traditional methods because of difficulties in data collection. Considering the positive correlation between business scale and nighttime lighting, this paper proposes a method of urban commercial areas detection based on nighttime lights satellite imagery. First, an imagery preprocess model is proposed to correct imageries and improve efficiency of cluster analysis. Then, an exploratory spatial data analysis and hotspots clustering method is employed to detect commercial areas by geographic distribution metric with urban commercial hotspots. Furthermore, four imageries of Wuhan City and Shenyang City are selected as an example for urban commercial areas detection experiments. Finally, a comparison is made to find out the time and space factors that affect the detection results of the commercial areas. By comparing the results with the existing map data, we are convinced that the nighttime lights satellite imagery can effectively detect the urban commercial areas. The time of image acquisition and the vegetation coverage in the area are two important factors affecting the detection effect. Harsh weather conditions and high vegetation coverage are conducive to the effective implementation of this method. This approach can be integrated with traditional methods to form a fast commercial areas detection model, which can then play a role in large-scale socio-economic surveys and dynamic detection of commercial areas evolution. Hence, a conclusion can be reached that this study provides a new method for the perception of urban socio-economic activities.
Keywords: Remote Sensing
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Pan, W., Fu, H., & Zheng, P. (2020). Regional Poverty and Inequality in the Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou City Cluster in China Based on NPP/VIIRS Night-Time Light Imagery. Sustainability, 12(6), 2547.
Abstract: Poverty and inequality remain outstanding challenges in many global regions. Understanding the underlying social and economic conditions is important in formulating poverty eradication strategies. Using Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Night-Time Light (NTL) images and multidimensional socioeconomic data between 2012 and 2018, this study measured regional poverty and inequality in the Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou city cluster in the People’s Republic of China. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Theil index decomposition method were used to establish an Integrated Poverty Index (IPI) and a regional inequality index, respectively. The results indicated that: (1) The poverty index is affected by the geographical location, policies, and resources of a district/county. A significant logarithmic correlation model between VIIRS Average Light Index (ALI) and IPI was established. (2) The Theil index derived from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicators showed that overall inequality and between-prefecture inequality declined, while within-prefecture inequality remained unchanged. In terms of the contributions to regional inequality, the contribution of within-prefecture inequality is the largest. The results indicated that Suomi National Polar Partnership/Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP/VIIRS) night-time data can help to perform district/county-level poverty assessments at small and medium spatial scales, although the evaluation effect on regional inequality is slightly lower.
Keywords: Remote sensing
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Tagliabue, L. C., Re Cecconi, F., Moretti, N., Rinaldi, S., Bellagente, P., & Ciribini, A. L. C. (2020). Security Assessment of Urban Areas through a GIS-Based Analysis of Lighting Data Generated by IoT Sensors. Applied Sciences, 10(6), 2174.
Abstract: The current perspective about urban development expects 70% of energy consumption will be concentrated in the cities in 2050. In addition, a growing density of people in the urban context leads to the need for increased security and safety for citizens, which imply a better lighting infrastructure. Smart solutions are required to optimize the corresponding energy effort. In developing countries, the cities’ lighting is limited and the lighting world map is strongly significant about the urban density of the different areas. Nevertheless, in territories where the illumination level is particularly high, such as urban contexts, the conditions are not homogenous at the microscale level and the perceived security is affected by artificial urban lighting. As an example, 27.2% of the families living in the city of Milan, ombardy Region, Italy, consider critical the conditions of lighting in the city during the night, although the region has diffused infrastructure. The paper aims to provide a local illuminance geographic information system (GIS) mapping at the neighborhood level that can be extended to the urban context. Such an approach could unveil the need to increase lighting to enhance the perceived safety and security for the citizens and promote a higher quality of life in the smart city. Lighting mapping can be matched with car accident mapping of cities and could be extended to perceived security among pedestrians in urban roads and green areas, also related to degradation signs of the built environment. In addition, such an approach could open new scenarios to the adaptive street lighting control used to reduce the energy consumption in a smart city: the perceived security of an area could be used as an additional index to be considered during the modulation of the level of the luminosity of street lighting. An example of a measurement set-up is described and tested at the district level to define how to implement an extensive monitoring campaign based on an extended research schema.
Keywords: Lighting
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