Urban night lighting evaluation system and case study: Blending popular contemporary elements, cultural traditions and advanced lighting technologies

Purpose: Night lighting reflects the prosperous development of economic and the increasingly rich and colorful cultural life. Currently, various technical standards, protocols and management specifications have been developed to build a safe, comfortable and economical lighting environment. However, prevailing evaluation systems focus on objective indexes of illumination and have ignored environmental characteristics and subjective feelings and lacked consideration of regional culture, economic benefit, management and maintenance. In this context, a lighting evaluation system combining subjective and objective is proposed for the first time in this study to explore approaches to guide the development of a healthy and comfortable urban night-time environment. Design/methodology/approach: Existing research and relevant lighting standards are analyzed and an evaluation model with a logical hierarchy is constructed by combining with the evaluation theory that is set based on people and the environment. The index weights were scientifically determined on the basis of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The rationality and validity of the proposed evaluation system is verified in accordance with field projects and case studies. Findings: Taking into account traditional and cultural factors, the evaluation model established has an acceptable accuracy. Evaluation based on subjective-objective combination can provide a scientific basis for the management and optimization of night lighting. Originality/value: The proposed evaluation system can serve as a guiding reference for other areas of cultural identity and esthetic perspective.