Spatial planning for dark hours in Sweden – conditions and proposal for action

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the absence of daylight are handled within spatial planning in Sweden, and to propose measures for action. The study includes a review of spatial planning documents, interviews with planning officers, and an overview of how outdoor lighting is included within the Swedish Planning and Building Act (PBL). The result shows that planning documents according to the PBL generally present few specific analyses and proposals linking to the design and the use of outdoor environments during dark hours, such as lighting. Instead, outdoor lighting is often managed within lighting masterplans, that lack a common methodology and a formal planning status. Possible consequences include that spatial planning provides limited support for how different public interests should be weighed against each other in a nocturnal context, and that citizens have little formal influence over strategic decisions on outdoor lighting. As a proposal, we suggest developing spatial planning for dark hours (‘nattstadsplanering’ in Swedish), that integrates the use, the design, and the outdoor lighting within the same planning process, using the PBL as a framework. The proposal includes clarification of lighting regulations, methodology development, and knowledge dissemination, which requires further research and investigations.