31 January 2020
“Slow cities” and happiness: an interview with Laura Bellia
How does one plan and create a city dedicated to slow mobility, giving priority to its inhabitants, those who live there and who travel it, often by foot, experiencing every aspect? To what extent does a form of planning that focuses on the inhabitants influence their well-being? And what role do illumination and the figure of the lighting designer play in this context? We put these questions to Laura Bellia, Professor of Environmental Physics, PhD, for the Department of Industrial Engineering at the Federico II University in Naples, as well as experimental and theoretical researcher in the lighting and energy sector.
The concept of the city was invented by humankind in order to live together. It is necessary for cities to be planned above all with the well-being of the inhabitants in mind. In this light, how important is it to rethink cities for people and not for their cars? What are the social, ecological and economic advantages of a city that favours walking? Can the slow mobility of a city suited to foot traffic have an impact on the happiness of its inhabitants?
The term “city” nowadays includes urban centres that range from small/medium-sized places to larger conurbations (megalopolises). Mobility needs to take place at differentiated speeds, and created with appropriate infrastructure such as parking areas, public mobility services, etc., based on both the morphological and social-economic characteristics of the urban area, as well as the form of movement. Specifically, on a local level (district, historical centre, urban park...), slow mobility, and in particular pedestrian movement, offers undeniable advantages in terms of physical activity, socialisation, the development of small-scale commercial activity, the reduction of polluting emissions and noise, as well as providing an opportunity to get the most out of areas for transit and permanence, thus combating degradation. Cities should be lived by citizens as a collective extension of their homes, and not as a hostile place to take refuge from. In this sense, a city suited to foot traffic, while not necessarily having an immediate and direct impact on happiness, can aim for an increase in overall well-being, with undoubtedly positive consequences.
A city suited to foot traffic is a city that should be perceived by those who travel it by foot as a pleasant, welcoming, recognisable, accessible and safe place. In what way can urban lighting (both public and private) render a city also suited to walking at night?
I would say that lighting is fundamental in rendering a city suitable for foot traffic, also because during the winter it gets dark in the afternoon. In order to create conditions that produce a pleasant atmosphere, induce a sense of security and welcome, and facilitate orientation, it is essential that the quality is excellent and suited to the purpose of the individual areas. This is why it is important not only to have adequate planning, preferably integrated into a lighting programme, but also that all the components and systems involved are of high quality and compliant with the relative requirements. This may appear to be in contrast with the need for saving of both funds and energy in the short term, but it is certainly not the case over longer periods, if one bears in mind aspects regarding the reduction of maintenance work, intelligent management and related social and economic advantages.
The suitability of a city for foot traffic may be determined by various factors such as size, incline, materials used for pedestrian ways; speed limits on streets and the level of separation from pedestrian ways; the presence of services or areas for seating and rest, as well as pedestrian shelters; historical, architectural or environmental interest in the area; night lighting; the presence of vegetation; parking spaces... However, the success of a project aimed at improving the suitability of an area for foot traffic depends above all on the ability to best exploit the local particularities and to adapt to the behaviour and needs of the inhabitants. This therefore requires a range of abilities and a multi-disciplinary work group for the definition of the necessary interventions. How important is the involvement of a lighting designer in this type of project? Why?
The presence of a lighting designer, a sector expert, in a multi-disciplinary group, is extremely important and should be obligatory, considering the need to translate the objectives that emerge from cooperation between the various professional figures in terms of design, and the fact that these are rarely considered among current regulatory requirements. The variety and the complexity of the interventions, which depend on specific local characteristics, require the key figure of a lighting technician capable of operating in terms of feasibility, able to mediate between differing requirements, and who is inventive, practical and experienced.