Lighting Metropolis

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There is rapid development in public lighting. The Metropolis Lighting project sees that collaboration across borders can make public environments smarter and more energy efficient. In this way, they want to create better and more habitable cities. Developed LED technology, better control options and light design. There is a lot of work on lighting in the public environment, says Jacob Lundgaard, project manager for Lighting Metropolis. It actually happens so much that it is difficult for municipalities and regions to keep up with the development — but that is what the project wants to change. The challenge is that since development is fast, especially technological developments, it is difficult for municipalities to know how to invest. This means that investing in better lighting takes longer than they should," says Jacob Lundgaard. Shared knowledge speeds up work: Lighting Metropolis wants to ensure that municipalities get the right skills to make the right investments. Through cooperation between Sweden and Denmark, each country can focus on different areas of lighting — but still gain knowledge of everything. According to Jacob Lundgaard, Sweden is at the forefront of lighting design, while Denmark is better at the technical elements. When we combine our two forces, we get a perfect match. We get the focus both on that light should be good for people, and on the other hand focusing on that the right technology is used to enable it. We have gathered three regions with almost four million people, which is much stronger than if each country had worked for itself. Lighting for better cities: Shifting to newer technology has several advantages according to the project. One of the main arguments is that it saves energy. Among other things, because the lighting can be controlled better than before, for example, some streets can only be properly illuminated when it is really needed — for example, when it comes to road users — and have dim lighting when they are empty. Today, many new things can be done with lighting. Not least, develop how to use light in cities so that it becomes better and more beautiful to be in the cities, says Jacob Lundgaard. One such example is that it has been shown that the colour of lighting affects how older people sleep, and by using the right lighting in care environments you can help them recover faster. Similarly, studies have shown that study learning in schools is improved with the right lighting, which the project also wants to develop. World leader in smart lighting: Jacob Lundgaard sees opportunities in linking lighting issues to other aspects of so-called “smart lighting”, such as connecting free Wi-Fi in cities to the lighting system so that they get electricity. This is new in lighting, it can be compared to the development of smartphone. From the beginning it was a phone to call with, today we use it for much more. The same can work for lighting systems, and this means that it is even more important for municipalities to know what to invest in," says Jacob Lundgaard. The project wants to showcase these new opportunities, and hopes that the Öresund region will be the place in the world where interested people come to develop, demonstrate and test new solutions within what is called smart urban lighting. Jacob Lundgaard thinks it’s important that the work gets started quickly. Creating good light is important for people. It’s about creating better cities, both outdoors and indoors, where light makes the city feel safe, safe and beautiful," he says.

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