Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: How does your community handle outdoor lighting?

[Ann Zabaldo (zabaldo]

Hey Dawn and all —

Can I chime in here?  Suggest you contact the US Green Building Council about 
lighting.

https://new.usgbc.org <https://new.usgbc.org/>

Takoma Village in Washington, DC is a very urban, densely developed, urban 
in-fill community.  We downlamped or downlighted (not sure which is the correct 
term) our outdoor lighting so we have light on the ground not in the sky.  I am 
sure the USGBC will have lots of information/recommendations that can inform 
your decision about lighting.

BTW — what community are you with and where are you located?  I appreciate 
knowing where in the country groups are emerging, building or built.

Best --

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Member, Board of Directors
Mid Atlantic Cohousing
Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
Falls Church, VA
202.546.4654

“Am I perfect?  No.   But am I striving to be a better person every day?  Also 
No.  (From a series of DIY embroidery quotes by The Twilight Sewen)

> On Jun 7, 2019, at 10:47 AM, KAREN A CARLSON via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> Dawn:  Everything Alan says makes great sense. I don't know about rural areas 
> but  a number of cities have a "night sky" ordinance which prohibit lighting 
> that escapes upward. As a dog walker not only do I resent private households 
> lighting public spaces (eg sidewalk) but I really dislike the "cool" spectrum 
> lights that are too bright and are uncomfortable to view when contrasted with 
> darkness.
> Our community went thru a long process to decide how much lighting was needed 
> to be on all the time (vs motion activated) in our large underground garage. 
> A good compromise was reached as everyone felt they had input.
> If possible in your setting see if various placement of motion activated 
> lights will be acceptable to all. 
> 
> Karen Carlson
> Arboretum Cohousing
> Madison, Wi
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jun 7, 2019, at 8:44 AM, Alan O'Hashi via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
>> cohousing.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Dawn - The first thing, there are no rigorous data that indicate more 
>> "public" lighting equals less crime. Not that any of this is applicable, but 
>> in the People's Republic of Boulder, Colorado I happened to be on the city 
>> Planning Board at the time the city placed a huge shroud on the lights of 
>> Boulder.
>> 
>> Where I live, there is minimal street lighting and it's very dark. Dog 
>> walkers and pedestrians use flashlights. Lights must have sconces that 
>> reduce the amount of light that escapes upward/outward and focuses the light 
>> downward. Even on our private community property, the sidewalk lights focus 
>> the light downward. We have lighting on the outdoor stairways that are 
>> positioned under the bannisters.
>> 
>> There are engineering companies that specialize in lighting. I suggest that 
>> during your due diligence process you contact one to ask them about the best 
>> type of lighting for your particular community. In a rural area, I would 
>> think that light pollution would be particularly noticeable. People live in 
>> sparsely populated areas, in part, because of the dark skies.
>> 
>> Thx,
>> Alan O. 
>> 
>> *******************************************
>> Alan O'Hashi - ECOS
>> EnviroCultural Organization Systems
>> http://www.alanohashi.com/ecos
>> Colorado 303-910-5782
>> Wyoming 307-274-1910
>> Nebraska 402-327-1652
>> *******************************************
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