The impact of artificial lighting on visual comfort and visual satisfaction of people : with special reference to outdoor public spaces in Colombo.

Abstract

Besides having many benefits on ecological and environmental aspects, urban parks are found to have a predictable impact on human well-being. With the fast paced development, city dwellers have gradually become used to an active night life. In view of this, the use of artificial lighting in urban parks manifests a significance in catering to the psychophysiological requirements associated with night life. This research investigates the impact of outdoor artificial lighting installations on the visual comfort and visual satisfaction of users in popular urban parks in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It attempts in identifying the parameters of human visual satisfaction contributing towards more viable and aesthetically satisfying public outdoor environments. The study was carried out in five popular urban parks namely; Arcade Independence Square, Viharamahadevi Park, Urban Wetland Park, Diyatha Uyana and Galle Face Esplanade. Data collection was done adopting a mix method consisting of questionnaires, in-situ observations, measurements and photographic analyses. Convenience sampling, which is a non-probability sampling technique, was used when selecting the participants explicitly, 5 different samples (n= 12) with an equal number of males and females were tested in the selected 5 urban parks. Light level, brightness ratio, glare, colour rendering and colour temperature were measured to identify the participants’ visual comfort. A subjective assessment was adopted to determine the users’ visual satisfaction on the aesthetics, safety and security related to the parks. Artificial lighting was found to have a direct impact on human visual comfort and visual satisfaction. The overall visual satisfaction with reference to the user experience under outdoor artificial lighting was found to be correlated with the functionality of spaces. It can be concluded that implementing lighting installations to enhance the important design elements associated with visual comfort and visual satisfaction corresponding with the functionality of the outdoor urban spaces during the night time is essential.