International Congress “Smart Noz”
18th to 19th march 2024, University of Brest, France
The perception of night-time as a time devoted solely to rest is becoming less and less true. The broadening of night-time activities in cities and rural areas shows that night-time is also a time for leisure, relaxation and/or (tele)work (Gwiadinzski, 2015; AAVV., 2021; Guérin, Hernández-González, Montandon, 2018). In the French context, although we cannot speak of "non-stop" cities operating 24 hours a day, there are occasionally urban areas where night-time activities are concentrated, such as certain districts with a large night-time leisure offer (bars, discotheques), hospitals or police stations open all night. The smooth running of human activities at night (leisure, work, rest, security) requires the use of artificial light, in the knowledge that this has an impact on the health of individuals as well as the natural environment (Zielinska-Dabkowska et al., 2023; Sordello, 2017 and 2018; Challéat and Lapostolle, 2014).
To this end, initiatives are being taken to treat artificial light more respectfully and sparingly, with the adoption of protection tools (such as the International Dark Sky Reserve label), and/or management and monitoring tools (setting up Schémas Directeurs d’Aménagement Lumière [guidelines for public lighting ] and creating Trames Noire [a dark ecological network]). The most common examples are initiatives to reduce the intensity of light in urban areas, or even to turn off lighting altogether at certain times of the day. Since 2019, the Schéma Régional d'Aménagement, de Développement Durable et d'Égalité des Territoires (SRADDET), the regional plan for sustainable development and territorial equality, has been recommending that all town planning documents should incorporate the fight against light pollution by including the notion of a Trames Noire (a dark ecological network.)
In the fight against light pollution, the main measure is the extinction and/or reduction of urban lighting and/or the adoption of a Trames Noire. Various studies have assessed the social acceptability of such measures (Beaudet, Tardieu and David, 2022; Franchomme et al., 2019). However, the notion of social acceptability refers to an assessment of the degree of satisfaction of the 'public' (users, residents) with a project or policy. The latter therefore plays the role of guarantor of its success (Amalric et al., 2015, Barbier and Nadaï, 2015). Some research shows that the notion of social acceptability is a complex process that in some cases enables the configuration of spaces for debate and arrangements between the different actors involved (Fortin and Fournis, 2014) while the notion of “social reception” can be “qualified by a form of neutrality, dissociated from the necessary adherence of the receivers of a project. It makes it possible to analyse both the interest shown in the principles and objectives sought by a project and the questioning of its stated objectives..." (Amalric and Becu, 2021, p.65). This notion also makes it possible to modify the role of the researcher as the holder of "expert" knowledge vis-à-vis the "lay" knowledge and expertise of use within the implementation of a participatory approach.
On the citizens' side, there is a desire to explore ways of improving social acceptance of a more sensible use of artificial light at night. In this context, citizens' organisations involved in projects to reduce night-time lighting (campaigners for sensible energy use and biodiversity, defenders of the cultural and scientific reserve that the night sky represents) are seeking to raise awareness of their cause among a wider public. One of the most high-profile awareness-raising initiatives is Jour de la Nuit (Night Day), a national event organised by Agir pour l'Environnement, an association for citizen mobilisation, in which several associations are partners. However, outside these population groups that are already sensitive to the issue, the perception of the reduction in artificial light remains linked to the feeling of safety, as it has an immediate effect on everyday life and practices. These measures to reduce night-time lighting may be considered "unfair" because they would endanger certain groups of the population, but they are also perceived as measures designed solely to cut costs on the part of the government and not necessarily linked, or very slightly linked, to ecological issues and lifestyles.
As part of this approach, a societal and territorial approach is essential in order to gain a better understanding of the relationship, perceptions and representations of artificial light held by different types of users/inhabitants (workers, night owls, etc.) and different socio-economic groups (women, the elderly, LGTBQI+, ethnic minorities.) Cross-disciplinary approaches that move away from a linear (purely scientific or purely technical) approach will enable us to better understand the benefits of such initiatives, as well as the obstacles before them.
To what extent, then, can we reconcile spaces that are accessible to all at night with a reduced environmental impact? How can we better understand the paradox between a concern for energy savings, the desire to take action to protect the environment, and the need for safety at night provided by artificial light?
This international symposium will mark the conclusion of the Smart Noz research-action project funded by the Brittany Region (2022-2024). It will focus on experiments in the social acceptability of lighting sobriety and its evaluation over time by certain population groups. It will also look at the role of associations, artists and researchers in participative approaches to the more rational use of artificial light at night. Presentations on the use of experimental methodologies exploring the contribution of participatory science to a low-light approach (biodiversity, digital, social approaches, etc.) will also be welcome.
The conference covers a wide range of themes, including the following. When submitting your abstract (3,000 characters, including spaces), please mention the theme(s) relevant to your contribution.
■ Light efficiency and participatory science.
■ Evaluation and social acceptability of measures to reduce the negative impact of artificial light at night.
■ Hybrid methodologies and experiments (associations, residents and/or artistic approaches.)
■ Research programmes/experiments with a comparative approach with other countries or case studies in the Americas or outside the French context.
■ Other themes related to the topics covered by the conference.
Références bibliographiques
■ AAVV., (2021), Chapter 5: Nighttime governance in times of COVID-19, Vibelab. URL:https://www.mcgill.ca/centre-montreal/files/centre-montreal/ch5_nighttime_governance_gnrp.pdf
■ Amalric, M. et Becu, N. (2021). La réception sociale de la gestion du risque littoral : un éclairage au prisme de la simulation participative. Revue internationale de psychosociologie et de gestion des comportements organisationnels, XXVII, 63-89. URL :https://doi.org/10.3917/rips1.069.0063
■ Barbier, R., et Nadaï, A. (2015). Acceptabilité sociale : Partager l’embarras. VertigO la revue électronique en sciences de l’environnement, 15(3). URL :https://doi.org/10.4000/vertigo.16713
■ Beaudet, Ch., Tardieu, L., David, M., (2022) Are citizens willing to accept changes in public lighting for biodiversity conservation?, Ecological Economics, Volume 200,2022,107527. URL:
https://www.inrae.fr/actualites/eclairage-public-francais-sont-ils-prets-eteindre-lumiere
■ Challéat, S., et Lapostolle, D. (2014). (Ré) concilier éclairage urbain et environnement nocturne: les enjeux d’une controverse sociotechnique. Natures Sciences Sociétés, 22(4), 317-328.
■ Franchomme, M., Hinnewinkel, Ch., et Challéat, S., (2019), La trame noire, un indicateur de la place de la nature dans l’aménagement du territoire, Bulletin de l’association de géographes français, 96-2, 2019, URL :http://journals.openedition.org/bagf/4764.
■ Guérin, F., Hernández González, E., et Montandon A., (dir.) (2018) Cohabiter les nuits urbaines. Des significations de l’ombre aux régulations de l’investissement ordinaire des nuits, Paris, L’Harmattan.
■ Gwiazdzinski, L., (2015) The urban night: A space time for innovation and sustainable development. Journal of Urban Research, N° 11, p. 1-15
■ Sordello, R. (2017). Pollution lumineuse et trame verte et bleue : vers une trame noire en France?. Territoire en mouvement, Revue de géographie et aménagement. Territory in movement Journal of geography and planning, (35)
■ Sordello, R., Jupille, O., Deutsch, É., Vauclair, S., Salmon-Legagneur, L. et Faure, J. (2018). Trame noire : un sujet qui « monte » dans les territoires. Sciences Eaux et Territoires, 25, 78-85.https://doi.org/10.3917/set.025.0078
■ Zielinska-Dabkowska, K. M., et al. (2023) Reducing nighttime light exposure in the urban environment to benefit human health and society, Science.https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg5277
Dates
■Abstract Submission before December 31th 2023
■Notification of acceptance of abstracts on 15th January 2024
■Conference registration until 15th March 2024
■Conference dates: 18-20th March 2024
↪ Send abstracts to :edna.hernandez@univ-brest.fr and christele.fraisse@univ-brest.fr
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