Better safe than sorry?
A social-scientific reflection on light, safety and security
y concerns and security measures are key to understanding how people feel affected by artificial light at night. In controversies over light levels, the argument of public safety regularly triumphs over environmental concerns about light pollution. Yet, unravelling the relationship between light, safety and security is all but simple as light waves interact with human gut feeling and, at the same time, produce societal, biological and ecological side-effects that go well beyond security lighting.