Getting Additional Lighting in the Neighborhood Paper Example

Introduction

Many people have experienced a scenario where a neighbor installs a new light on his property. The new light is usually an unshielded fixture that casts a bright light which they spill onto the property of other neighbors and most times shines inside homes. Often, this is known as light trespass, and it can lead to lots of agony and frustration. Although the administration does not get involved in the dispute among neighbors, this resource is created with the hope that people will understand the benefits of getting additional lights in neighborhoods. As a review of the modern neighborhood lighting and its impact, scholarly literature on proper outdoor lighting at night has shown major categories of; benefits and limitations of external light, impact on external flash on the safety of the community and public street lighting as standard assessment and achievement.

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The Benefits and Limitations of External Lighting

In as much as many people have praised street lighting, studies have shown that outer lighting areas can have both advantages and limitations. One common weakness of external flash is lighting up places that cannot be seen by you or your neighbors. In such a case, lighting externally will not work because, in the event of a burglary, those in the neighborhood are unable to see the perpetrator. The Crime Prevention Website (2012) also looks at the benefits of external lighting, and it is from these reasons that we find the need to acquire additional lighting in neighborhoods. These benefits are given from the viewpoint of security. According to the website, 'getting additional lighting is beneficial because it enhances our feelings of safety, helps us investigate an incident outside the house, assist in dealing with callers and the door and eventually lighting up places allowing the community to have a full view of the street and neighborhood' (p. 1). According to this website, these benefits help undo the limitations of lighting only when the external lights are placed in the right places that are controlled in the right way.

Impact of External Lighting

The literature on the effects of external light is more on safety and security. In community-based participatory research by the Pacific Institute (n.d), street lighting impact neighborhood safety. A survey by the institute found that residents felt safer after a streetlight upgrade. More than half of the participants in the study claimed that they had seen a change in regards to their neighborhood safety as a result of the update. The survey by the Institute provides a picture of the area's reaction to a light upgrade; this alone is enough to gauge the impact of external lighting concerning feelings of safety. Streetlights do more than make the community feel safer. External lighting impacts on crime prevention. In a study by Lewis, Sullivan & Pergamon (1979), there is a decrease in crime when external lighting is offered. For instance, when external light is placed on a black spot, thieves and those with an intention to perform crime are stopped. In addition to their crime analysis, these authors completed household surveys in both unimproved and 'controlled areas' for comparative purposes.

Notably, the authors were out to reveal the repercussions of regular variations in hours of darkness. While the primary goal of the research was to show whether crime decreased and the perception of residents, they are served as a comparison in changes in incidences of crime and what citizens thought about incorporating street lighting. Both the opinions of the public and findings on whether crime reduced drew the authors into concluding that external flash impacted offense and harassments of citizens.

Using street lighting data from the City of Detroit, Xu, Fy, Kennedy, Jiang, and Owusu-Agyemang (2018), measured the random effects of the spatial variables and different hours of the day on crime. In their results section, these authors revealed 'an inverse relationship between street light density and crime rates' across all blocks in Detroit. The findings from this research helped strengthen existing evidence that external lighting helped reduce crime rates. Therefore, there is more credible evidence that policymakers should make use of public safety resources such as improving street lighting in areas with high criminal incidences. Building on the existing body of literature relating to how public lighting impact security and crime, Yonas, O'Campo, Burke & Gielen (2007) investigated how particular environmental factors influenced young people experiences with violence.

The authors in this article sought to identify neighborhoods with increased levels of youth violence and measure the cause of the same using demographic predictions. All the data collected in their research reported increased youth violence in areas with no street lighting. The severity of youth violence was increased generally 'due to the perceptions and experience by the youth that the presence of darkness was a strong pull for survival (p. 674). Because a majority of the youth interviewed felt that violence was increasing because the lack of lighting was used to instill fear among residents thus the persistence of violence. Among the many recommendations provided by authors, street lighting was felt to be directly related to youth violence and drug activity. Therefore the authors concluded that 'there is need to brighten the lights and add more lighting because the lack of lighting gives youth a chance to keep doing what they do because of the belief that no one is monitoring them' (p. 678).

Public Street Lighting as Standard Assessment and Achievement

Referring to Maslow's need of security, Naghibi, Faizi, Khakzand & Fattahi (2015) mention that security is one of the most fundamental human needs and because of the need to make a community safe, some physical characteristics of an urban environment can be applied. According to these authors, the achievement of physical characters of security can be assessed and achieved through public street lighting. The authors, therefore, concluded that 'environmental lighting is one of the practical elements that cause safety in areas; therefore, it should be made a standard measure and achievement of outdoor safety especially at night' (p. 269).

Murray and Feng (2016) also supported the idea that public street lighting should be a standard achievement and assessment for free security at night. According to them 'lighting enhances safety and security in neighborhoods, and at the same time contributes to charm and character' (p. 7). Because of this reason, cities should establish lighting standards as the mechanisms of assessment and achievement of these concerns and do so in a manner that manages the impacts and costs to environments. Moreover, security management could help create successful lighting arrangements that take into consideration the safety of day to day operations. Murray and Feng maintain that community members must 'feel safe because safety and security needs are one of the most important human needs' (p. 1).

Conclusion

The literature on external lighting reveals that one of the most fundamental needs and concerns of human beings is safety. Most communities in areas that are not lit in the night have raised worries of fear, feeling insecure and having to deal with youth violence. However, the analysis is this composition shows that humans need for security is clearly defined in the benefits of public lighting. It is also interesting that other authors feel that outdoor lighting should be made a standard assessment for security and safety; a measure that should be performed by security management.

References

Lewis, E. B., Sullivan, T. T. & Pergamon Press, I. (1979). Combating crime and citizen attitudes- a study of the corresponding reality. Journal of Criminal Justice, 7(1), 71-79. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy,umuc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=SM057875&site=eds-live&scope-site

Murray A.T, Feng, X. (2016). Public street lighting service standard assessment and achievement. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 53, 14-22 http://doi.org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1016/j.seps.2015.12.001

Naghibi, M. S., Faizi., Khakzand, M. & Fattahi, M. (2015). Achievement to Physical Characteristics of Security in Residential Neighborhoods. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 201, 265-274. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.106/j.sbspro.2015.08.175.

Pacific Institute. (n.d). Streetlights and Community safety Retrieved from https://pacinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/streetlights3.pdf The Crime Prevention Website. (2012). The benefits and limitations of external lighting Retrieved from https://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/external-lighting-for-the-home-and-garden/620/the-benefits-and-limitations-of-external-lighting/

Xu, Y., Fu, C., Kennedy, E., Jiang, S. & Owusu-Agyemang, S. (2018). The impact of street lights on spartial-temporal patterns of crime in Detroit, Michigan. Cities, 79, 45-52. https://doi-orga.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1016/j.cities.2018.02.021.

Yonas, M. A. O'Campo, P., Burke, J. G. & Gielen, A. C. (2007). Neighborhood-level factors and youth violence: Giving voice to the perceptions of prominent neighborhood individuals. Health Education & Behavior, 34(4), 669-685. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ809401&site=eds-live&scope=site